If your role was scrapped and someone else is now doing your work, or you were given no warning or consultation, it is worth a short call to find out where you stand. Call 1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). The first call is free, with no obligation.
What makes a redundancy genuine
Under the Fair Work Act, a redundancy is only a genuine redundancy when all of the following are true:
- your employer no longer needs your job to be done by anyone because of changes in how the business operates, and
- your employer followed any obligation to consult about the redundancy that was in a modern award or enterprise agreement covering you, and
- it would not have been reasonable to redeploy you somewhere else in the business, or in an associated business.
If any one of those is missing, the redundancy may not be genuine, and a dismissal that is not a genuine redundancy can be challenged as unfair.
The common problems
Your job is still being done. The test is whether your job has really gone, not just whether the tasks vanished. But if the same work is simply handed to someone else and your position was a cover story for getting rid of you, that is a real issue. It can still be genuine if duties are redistributed after a real restructure, so the detail matters, and this is exactly the kind of thing worth talking through.
They did not consult you. If an award or enterprise agreement covered you and required consultation about redundancy, and your employer skipped it, the redundancy can fail the test on that ground alone. This is one of the most common reasons redundancies are found not to be genuine.
They could have redeployed you. If there was another role you could reasonably have moved into, in your employer's business or an associated one, and they did not offer it, the redundancy may not be genuine.
Redundancy pay and notice
Separately from whether the redundancy was genuine, you may be owed redundancy pay and notice based on your length of service under the National Employment Standards. redundancy pay is set by the National Employment Standards and increases with your years of continuous service, and you're also entitled to notice or pay in lieu. Small business employers (fewer than 15 employees) are generally not required to pay redundancy pay, and employees with less than 12 months' service generally don't qualify.
If you think you have been short-changed on what you were owed, that is worth checking too.
The 21 day deadline
If you want to challenge the dismissal as unfair, you generally have 21 days from the day it took effect to lodge. The Commission rarely extends that. If your redundancy felt off, do not sit on it.
Find out where you stand
Whether a redundancy was genuine turns on details: what the business actually changed, what your award said about consultation, whether another role existed. It is a lot to work out on your own.
A short call will tell you quickly whether it is worth pursuing.
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 are paid agents, not lawyers. We represent employees at the Fair Work Commission and we will give you a straight answer about your options.