1. Reasonable notice of termination
The decision by the High Court of Australia to refuse special
leave to appeal(1) to an employee from a decision of the Full Court
of the Federal Court of Australia(2) significantly reduces the
likelihood of employees seeking to argue that they are entitled to
"reasonable" notice of termination which exceeds
statutory and Award minimums.
Traditionally, where an employment contract does not include an
express provision in relation to notice of termination, or
alternatively, an employment contract which includes a notice
provision is an outdated contract which does not relate to the
employee's current position, the Courts have implied a term
into the employment contract such that the employer is required to
provide the employee with "reasonable" notice of
termination. In practice, senior employees with long periods of
service have been able to claim between 12 and 18 months as a
reasonable period of notice of termination.
