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Redundancy Solicitors - Litigation Lawyers Australia
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The Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA) entitles all employees who have been in employment for more than a year to redundancy pay in the event that their job position is no longer available due to economic, market, structural or technological changes. Strictly speaking under law a redundancy occurs when an employer decides that they no longer want the employee’s job done by anyone and terminates that employment or when the employing business becomes insolvent or bankrupt.
Redundancy is explicitly defined in the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWAct) and takes place “when a position is no longer needed to be filled by anyone,” this can be caused in effect by the plausible shift of technologies; a mechanised replacement of humans, market and economic considerations where the product produced might no longer be needed because of replacement or a decline in sales, as well as insolvency and bankruptcy. Under certain situations the compensation payment for genuine redundancy becomes payable to employees, staff, and executives by Australia’s Government when an employer cannot make payment, which is normally the case during bankruptcy. If you require assistance or advice from a redundancy solicitor send us an email, phone us on the helpline or use a contact form.
Wrongful Dismissal
The declared redundancy has to be verified as a genuine redundancy, if not then the staff, executives, and employees have legal right to claim reinstatement, when possible or compensation damages for an unfair dismissal. Sham redundancy might occur when an employer decides that it might be more advantageous financially to dismiss employees by claiming redundancy of a position instead of the remuneration of damages which could be due in the case of unlawful and unfair dismissals. Employees, executives, and staff must make application for compensation to Fair Work Commission (FWC) in these situations not later than 21 days after the last day of work. Our redundancy solicitors offer advice on all employment matters including sham redundancy.
Genuine Redundancy
Genuine redundancy transpires when a position or job is not required to be done by any employee due to a slowdown of production as the result of smaller sales, which could have been triggered by a market or economic shift, restructuring, relocations, or reorganisation which might have been caused by a merger, a takeover, or buyout, and as appropriate, required consultations were completed by the employer and thus compliant with statutes in the case of Modern Awards as well as any Enterprise Agreements that require such consultation. In an event, the possibility existed to relocate staff, employees, or an executive within, to similar positions, or to associated businesses, but the employer decided not to redeploy employees, into available jobs or positions, then that is not the true definition of genuine redundancy. The FWAct specifies models or examples that describe genuine redundancy, some that have been previously stated above. For legal advice on these matters please contact our redundancy solicitors.
Sham Redundancy
There are some employers who want to remove an employee who calculate that it is cheaper to allege that an employee is being made redundant rather than pay compensation for unfair dismissal or unlawful dismissal. In these cases the employee can claim that they have been dismissed in an application to FWA.
Amount of Awards
In accordance with the FWAct all employees, to include staff and executives are eligible to receive compensatory redundancy payments that could amount to the equal pay due in a period of 12 weeks. Those employees who have not completed a consecutive service requirement of at least 12 months within a firm or business that employs 15 personnel or less to be considered a small business, or a 6 month minimum in a firm that employs more than the 15 employees maximum, which does not include any casual worker or the time spent considered casual work by the employee. When the employer claims insolvency or bankruptcy and is unable to pay, that firm must make an application for relief to the FWC, who can grant a variant of statutory requirements for the amounts payable, the difference is often paid by the government. When solvent employers fail in making adequate payment to employees and executives they must submit applications for compensatory damages to the FWC.
Bankruptcy & Insolvency
In the event of the employer becoming bankrupt or insolvent and unable to pay the redundancy entitlement, a claim for financial assistance can be made to the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) which is government funded. GEERS may pay unpaid wages, unpaid annual leave, unpaid long service leave, money in lieu of notice and redundancy entitlement.
Employment Lawyers
Our specialist solicitors are expert employment law professionals and handle claims for redundancy payment rights as it pertains to any employees, as their representative to safeguard their rights outlined within the FWAct and supply advice regarding redundancy rights or other employment matters, wrongful dismissals, and the conditions and terms of contracts. If you require assistance or advice send us an email, phone us on the helpline or use a contact form.
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