A former Commonwealth Bank executive was awarded A$317,500 compensation after he brought a breach of contract case against the bank, following his redundancy in 2009.Stephen Barker started working for the Commonwealth Bank in 1981, after leaving school. By 1989 he was a loans officer at the Findon branch, in Adelaide.Barker continued to move up through the ranks, and in 2004 was appointed executive manager for corporate banking in Adelaide. He managed a business with 800 customers, $27 million of revenue and 24 staff in his team.In 2006 there was some restructuring in the corporate and business banking division, and this affected Barker's seniority.Despite assurances from his manager that his role was not changing, Barker claimed there was a lessening of his responsibilities. He felt that he had been misled.The restructuring continued during 2007 and 2008. Barker's relationship with has manager had become fractious by then. His position was made redundant in March 2009.In a judgement handed down on September 3, the Federal Court found that the bank was in breach of contract because it did not give Barker four weeks' notice. It also found that the bank breached implied terms of mutual trust and confidence by not giving Barker the chance to be redeployed.