1. I have just been given a month's notice that my position is about to become redundant. Can I do anything about this?
Where an employer no longer requires a particular job to be performed by anyone, ie, the position is now redundant, the person doing that job may find his or her contract of employment terminated (meaning they are dismissed from the job).
Usually the remedies available to prevent the termination prior to it occurring are expensive and limited to situations where the redundancy is not genuine. If you believe that the redundancy is not genuine, you should seek legal advice as to whether you can prevent the termination.
The National Employment Standards (NES), introduced by the Fair Work Act 2009, provides most employees with an entitlement to a redundancy payment and sufficient notice of the redundancy.
The amount of notice and redundancy pay an employer is required to give under the NES depends on the length of service with that employer which is calculated from the date that the Act came into force, 1 January 2010, starting at 4 weeks pay for an employee who has been employed for at least one year.
The NES sets out the minimum amount of entitlements that an employee must receive if they have been made redundant, however, your employment contract, award, Australian Workplace Agreement or company policy may provide for a longer notice period and redundancy payment.
People in the following situations are not be entitled to redundancy pay under the NES:
1. Employees in a business which employs less than 15 people;
2. Casual employees;
3. Those employed on a fixed term contract;
4. Where the termination is a result of the ‘ordinary and customary turnover of labour’; and
5. Apprentices.
2. My company has received a letter from an ex-employee saying he is going to sue us for being bullied. Can he do that?
Being bullied itself does not give an employee an automatic right to sue.
However, bullying can create a number of different types of legal liability for employers depending on what sort of bullying took place.
Liability may be imposed arising from OHS prosecutions or
Anti-discrimination complaints, or if the employee proves constructive dismissal, an unfair dismissal or other industrial complaint.
Extreme cases can result in criminal charges and breach of contract claims.
Where the bullying has been perpetrated by another employee, the employer may be vicariously liable depending whether the bullying took place as part of the work associated with the employment.
3. I have been asked to teach a course at TAFE. They said I had to declare I have never been convicted of any offences involving children. Is this true?
Under Child Protection legislation, an obligation exists on an employer (in child related employment) to ensure an employee is not a prohibited employee, that is a person who has been convicted of a ‘serious sex offence.’
Penalties exist for both employee and employer for breaches of the provisions. A prohibited person can apply for an order that the Act does not apply to them.
