If you are close to the line, or not sure, it is worth a quick check. Call 1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). The first call is free, with no obligation.
How long you need
You generally need to have completed a minimum employment period of:
- six months, or
- one year, if your employer is a small business.
A small business here means one that employs fewer than 15 employees, counted as a head count of all full-time and part-time staff, plus regular casuals. Related businesses are counted together.
"Probation" does not decide this
This is the myth that trips people up most. Your employer may have put you on a "three month probation" or a "six month probation." That probation is a workplace arrangement. It does not set your unfair dismissal rights.
What matters is the minimum employment period in the Fair Work Act, not the label your employer used. You can be past your probation and still under the minimum period, or the other way around. If you were dismissed and someone told you "you were still on probation, so you can't do anything," that is worth checking, because it is often wrong.
Casual service can count
If you worked as a casual before being dismissed, that time might count towards your minimum period, but only if your work was regular and systematic and you had a reasonable expectation it would continue. See casual employees and unfair dismissal for how that works.
If you are just under the line
Even if you have not reached the minimum period, do not assume you have no options at all. Some protections, like the general protections, do not require a minimum period. If you were dismissed for a reason like making a complaint or a protected attribute, you may still have a claim. See adverse action.
The 21 day deadline
If you can claim, you generally have 21 days from the day the dismissal took effect to lodge. The Commission rarely extends it. If you think you have just crossed the minimum period, act quickly, timing matters twice here.
Not sure if you qualify?
Whether you have met the minimum period, whether your casual time counts, and whether another claim is open if you have not, are exactly the things worth a short call.
Call 1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). The first call is free and there is no obligation. Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, weekends 9am to 5pm.
We act for employees at the Fair Work Commission and we will tell you honestly whether you can claim.