threshold ($136,700 as at 1 July 2015) to be
protected from unfair dismissal.
An unfair dismissal is: (a) where a person
has been dismissed; (b) the dismissal was
harsh, unjust or unreasonable and (c) was
not consistent with the Small Business Fair
Dismissal Code.
It should be noted that a genuine
redundancy is not an unfair dismissal.
However, even if the redundancy is otherwise
‘genuine’ it can be found to be an unfair
dismissal if the redundancy requirements of
the FWA are not complied with.
Dismissed
A dismissal is not only when an employer
terminates an employee, but can also be
found where a person is constructively
dismissed (for instance, by decreasing an
employee’s pay) or otherwise where the
circumstances are such that an employee
is (essentially) forced to resign because of
the conduct of the employer (e.g. ‘We can
terminate you or you can resign!’).
Harsh, unjust or unreasonable
The FWA requires the Fair Work Commission
(FWC) to take into account and weigh up
each of the following factors in determining
whether a dismissal was unf