A recent decision of the Full Bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (Commission) has highlighted the circumstances in which a probationary period of more than three months may be justified.
The Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) provided that employees serving a probationary or qualifying period were excluded from applying for relief in respect of the termination of their employment.
This exclusion applies if the duration or maximum duration of the probationary period is determined in advance and is either less than three months or, if more than three months, is reasonable having regard to the nature and circumstances of the employment.
Facts
On 5 May 2003 the appellant, Mr Sankar, commenced employment with the Health Insurance Commission (HIC) as a senior information technology specialist. It was agreed prior to the commencement of employment that there would be a probationary period of six months which was to end on 5 November 2003. Mr Sankar's employment was
