Unfair dismissal financial compensation

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lisac

Active Member
3 April 2020
7
0
31
Hi all,

I would like thoughts on this please.

I was made redundant- the process of being told was handled poorly. But there was no consultation process required as I was not on an award or enterprise agreement.

There were obvious redeployment opportunities at the time but I was not offered them. I then had to get a new job somewhere else but not out of my choice but I have bills to pay.

I had the fair work conciliation and I was advised that I could not claim for financial compensation because I already had a new role. I am not sure how getting a new job related to how my redundancy was handled.

I ended up being penalised for picking myself back up from a redundancy and getting a new job. It had an effect on my mental wellbeing and has knocked my confidence.

I feel like the company were not penalised for its actions and could do this again to another employee.

It appears that the law does not favour employees but the employer who already have access to resources than an normal individual would have.
 

lisac

Active Member
3 April 2020
7
0
31
Okay, that's an unfair dismissal claim.
Is there another legal process I can pursue? My new job which I was forced to get due to the redundancy and having bills to pay requires additional travel time and costs compared to my previous role.
 

lisac

Active Member
3 April 2020
7
0
31
If you claim it was not a genuine redundancy then you filed in the wrong list.
That’s interesting as that is what I was advised to complete. What do you believe I should have filed? Thanks
 

Rod

Lawyer
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27 May 2014
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You can file either a UD or GP claim.

How many weeks between ending your job and starting a new job?

How many years service did you have?

What stage is the current proceeding at (did you file a F50 discontinuance?)
 

lisac

Active Member
3 April 2020
7
0
31
You can file either a UD or GP claim.

How many weeks between ending your job and starting a new job?

How many years service did you have?

What stage is the current proceeding at (did you file a F50 discontinuance?)
Hi Rod,

Thanks for the response.

1 week between ending and starting the new job but I don't understand why this is taken into account by Fair Work. This has to do with how poorly the the employer handled the entire process. There were suitable redeployment options at the time which were not offered to me hence why I had to find a new role elsewhere. I could not afford to wait around and hope for financial compensation as I do have rent and bills to pay.

I had 14 months of service.

The fair work conciliation has taken place at which the conciliator stated that I was not eligible to any financial compensation because I had started a new job. The employer just offered a statement of service.

I have yet to file a F50.

It doesn't have to be financial compensation as long as the employer is somehow penalised to prevent other employees from going through what I went though. A number of employees have already been treated very badly by this employer and they need to be held accountable.
 

Rod

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
27 May 2014
7,726
1,056
2,894
www.hutchinsonlegal.com.au
If found to be a non-genuine redundancy and the dismissal deemed unfair, you can likely obtain 1 or 2 weeks salary.

Remedies for unfair dismissal are to compensate you for lost income, not penalise the employer. Taking up a new job means you have not lost much income.

Assuming the new job pays at least as much as your old job, then if unfairly dismissed, one week lost income is appropriate, plus as a novel claim, 1 week for lost accrual of LSL. Worth a try.