Fair Work, Unfair Dismissals and Other Protections
You are here:100 employee exemption gone for SMEs; small employers must meet Fair Dismissal Code when dismissing; new employee protections introduced; and more.
Unfair Dismissal Law Changes
Whether changes to unfair dismissals to be introduced by the Fair Work laws will impact you, laregely depends on how many employees you have.
If you have more than 100 employees, not a lot has changed. Click here for your summary.
If you have 100 employees or less (and 15 employees or more), you will now have to comply with unfair dismissal laws. Click here for your summary.
If you have less than 15 employees, compliance with the Fair Dismissal Code will be sufficient. This is your summary.
Unlawful Termination and other new Employee Protections
The Bill in some cases expands statutory protections for employees against actions by their employer in their employment. It will contain general protections dealing with workplace and industrial rights, including freedom of association, protection against discrimination, unlawful termination and sham arrangements in respect of independent contractors.
The Bill will prohibit a person (including an employer, employee and industrial association) from taking ‘adverse action’ against another person who has, or exercises, a ‘workplace right’, or prevents the exercise of a workplace right by another person.
ER Strategies Comment - these new protections against "adverse action" are not limited to cases of dismissal. We expect in practice they will significantly add to the actions an employee can take against their employer. For example, they could catch practices such as reducing a casual employee's hours, altering their shift patterns or in some other way treating an employee differently. It also includes threatening to take an adverse action, such as threatening to terminate an employee.
Of equal concern is the extension of rights under industrial legislation to prospective employees. For example, where a job offer to a prospective employee is withdrawn for some prescribed reason.
With the support of the proposed greater interventionist role of FWA, employers who dare to take action against employers without proper documented grounds could face a barrage of legal actions against their conduct.
