Unfair Dismissal Claims under the Fair Work Act: Guiding Principles from Recent Decisions

Mr Andrew Tobin, Partner

Some of Fair Work Australia's recent decisions provide useful signposts as to how unfair dismissal claims will be handled where the claim is made:

• by a casual employee;
• outside the 14 day time period for those unaware of the law;
• where there are no reasonable prospects of success; and
• by an employee of a foreign company working in Australia.

Casual employees

The Fair Work Act provides casual employees with the same ability to make an unfair dismissal claim as full-time or part-time employees, as long as they:

• complete the applicable minimum period of employment (either 6 or 12 months depending on the size of the business); and
• were engaged on a regular and systematic basis and had a reasonable expectation of continuing to work on that basis.