Rehiring after a redundancy – Is there a time limit?

In a recent unfair dismissal case dealing with whether there is a time limit when rehiring after a redundancy, the Fair Work Commission was satisfied that the Applicant's dismissal was a case of genuine redundancy, despite the company advertising the same role in less than one month. The Commission accepted that this could be explained by the fact that the market in which the company operates had fluctuated appreciably in the wake of COVID-19 requiring it to quickly adapt and refocus its operations.

Facts

The company, by mid-April, was experiencing a high downturn in sales in fuel and other retail operations as a consequence of the pandemic, which lead to the decision of restructuring its retail management, which included making the Applicant's position redundant on 18 April 2020.