This section looks at a number of issues relating to termination and provides guidance for HR professionals.

 

A number of issues are covered by the term ‘termination of employment’: unfair dismissal, unlawful dismissal, termination payments, redundancy, resignation and retirement and more.

 

The federal Fair Work Act 2009 applies to constitutional corporations in Australia. Constitutional corporations include trading corporations so most businesses that operate under a company structure are subject to the Fair Work legislation. In addition, all States except for Western Australia have referred their constitutional industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth. The federal Act, combined with the referred powers by the States, mean that almost all employers, except for those which are not constitutional corporations in Western Australia and state local government employees are subject to federal unfair/unlawful dismissal laws.

 

In Western Australia, those businesses that are not constitutional corporations remain subject to State laws and are subject to the unfair dismissal legislation in that State.

 

Unlawful dismissal actions are still available against any employer dismissing an employee on prohibited grounds— eg dismissal based on age discrimination.