Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee can make an unfair dismissal claim regardless of the business size, as long as they have completed the minimum employment periods and meet other requirements.

The Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and Small Business Fair Dismissal Checklists are “tools” to help small businesses. 

However, just completing the checklist doesn’t mean the code has been complied with, nor is it a requirement of the code that the checklist be completed.

The checklist can assist small business employers assess and provide a record of the reasons for dismissing an employee. Employers should read the code to understand their procedural obligations before completing the checklist.

Recently one of our small business client’s called us for assistance in this area, requiring professional guidance to respond to an Unfair Dismissal Claim lodged by a former employee.

His comments were:

“Receiving professional advice was important because I had a sudden problem that I had no idea how best to resolve. I rang Robson Partners as I knew that they would support me through the Unfair Dismissal process.

This has been positive for me knowing I have professional support, which helped me to take control of the situation by explaining to me what needed to be done, how we needed to do it and when by. 

The team at Robsons really guided me through this.”

Following on from his comments he added, “Overall the biggest learning curve for me was that I didn’t realise just how broad and difficult Employment Law can be. We now have options for continual support with process and procedures to ensure we are prepared for any situations that may arise in the future.”