WA Company Hired Contractor to Do My Job After My Redundancy?

[hannes]

I was made redundant and now the company just move my work to an independent contractor to do.

 

[Rod]

From Fair Work Australia website:

The Fair Work Act 2009 provides that a person’s dismissal is a ‘genuine redundancy’ if all of the following conditions were met:

• the employer no longer required the person’s job to be done by anyone because of changes in the operational requirements of the employer’s enterprise
• the employer complied with any obligation in an applicable workplace instrument (e.g. award or agreement) to consult about the redundancy
• there was no reasonable opportunity for the person to be redeployed within the employer’s enterprise or the enterprise of an associated entity of the employer.

If not all conditions are met you might have a case for unfair dismissal.

 

[hannes]

Thanks

Can anyone in the company or anyone who had that work no longer exists do it, or can you get someone outside of the company to do it?

 

[Yevgeni]

Thanks

Can anyone in the company or anyone who had that work no longer exists do it, or can you get someone outside of the company to do it?

Hi Hannes,

It is hard to help you properly in this matter with the limited information that you have provided. Having said that and on the limited information available, prima facie, it would appear that it is not a genuine redundancy as the job and tasks and duties that you were previously doing are still in existence and are simply being performed by someone else (i.e. the independent contractor) and have not been subsumed into other existing roles within the business.

Some of the information that I will need would be, inter alia:

1. The process the employer went through to make you redundant (i.e. was there a consultation about the proposed redundancy);
2. Whether your are covered by an award or an employment contract;
3. Did you exercise any workplace rights in the lead up to the redundancy, such as making complaints or inquiries about your employment or taken leave or had any absences from work as a result of sickness or injuries, etc.
4. Who was you employer as this may depend on the legislation that applies to the termination of your employment, etc.

Please note that you have to be proactive about perusing an employment claim as any unfair dismal or general protections application, if the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) applies to your employment, must be lodged within 21 days of termination. If you are outside the time frame, you would have to show exceptional circumstances in order to proceed with the application.

I hope that helps.