INTHEBLACK November 2021 - Magazine - Page 47
AT A
GLANCE
Australia’s Fair Work
Commission received
16,500 unfair
dismissal applications
between March and
June 2020.
The rise in unfair
dismissal applications
signals a need for
businesses to ensure
their processes and
policies are fair and
lawful.
Strong communication
and a thorough
understanding of
employee termination
policies and
procedures can go a
long way in avoiding
unfair dismissal claims.
W H E N I S I T A C C E P TA B L E T O T E R M I N AT E S O M E O N E ’ S
E M P L OY M E N T ? K N O W I N G YO U R R I G H T S A N D O B L I G AT I O N S
AS A N E M P L OY E R H AS A LWAYS B E E N I M P O R TA N T, B U T A
R E C E N T S U R G E I N U N FA I R D I S M I S S A L C L A I M S A G A I N S T
B U S I N E S S E S H AS H I G H L I G H T E D T H AT S O M E E M P L OY E R S
M AY B E TA K I N G U N N E C E S S A RY R I S KS .
A
ustralia’s Fair Work Commission
received more than 16,500 unfair
dismissal applications last financial
year, with lodgements between
March and June 2020 up by
40 per cent on the same period the year before.
Giri Sivaraman, a principal and employment
law specialist at Maurice Blackburn, says he
noticed a pronounced rise in unfair dismissal
actions from employees who have been accused
of workplace sexual harassment.
However, the bulk of the rise coincided with
the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic and
the wave of job losses that followed despite the
rollout of the federal government’s JobKeeper
Payment program designed to help businesses
retain their employees.
“I also definitely saw a trend where people
got sacked purportedly because of COVID-19,
when in actual fact it was a knee-jerk reaction
by their employer,” Sivaraman says.
“Employers acted as if they qualified for
special dispensation afforded to them by
qualifying for JobKeeper, when in fact they
hadn’t, and used that as cover for sham
redundancies.”
With business conditions across Australia
remaining fragile, and the JobKeeper program
having finished at the end of March, many
expect ongoing redundancies will contribute
to the elevated levels of unfair dismissal claims
being lodged with the Fair Work Commission.
WHAT IS AN UNFAIR DISMISSAL?
The Fair Work Commission may consider
an employee has been unfairly dismissed if
their dismissal is deemed harsh, unjust or
unreasonable.
A person needs to be employed for at least six
months before they can claim unfair dismissal.
Those eligible to make an unfair dismissal
claim must earn below the high-income
intheblack.com November 2021 47