ARTICLE · 14 MARCH 2007

Redundancy – The Minefield Still Exists

Hunt & Hunt

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A potential legal minefield still remains around decisions to make employees redundant, for those employers in the federal system with 100 or more employees.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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A potential legal minefield still remains around decisions to make employees redundant, for those employers in the federal system with 100 or more employees.

The new Work Choices unfair dismissal provisions attempt to extinguish claims for unfair dismissal where the termination was for "genuine operational reasons or for reasons that include genuine operational reasons". However, recent case decisions confirm that successful litigation is still a significant risk in this area.

Operational reasons

Two decisions handed down by the AIRC during October 2006 involved unsuccessful applications, brought by employers to dismiss unfair dismissal claims on jurisdictional grounds (based on the new Work Choices provisions).

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