This infosheet discusses General Protections Dispute - Termination claims, and is designed to help you as an employee identify your rights and to take the most appropriate action under the General Protections Dispute provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act).
If you have been dismissed from your job, you may be eligible to make
either:
You must choose to make either an unfair dismissal claim or a GPD-T claim (or another claim e.g. a discrimination complaint under the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010) because you can only make one claim at a time in relation to the termination of your employment.
Note: You have 21 days from the date your dismissal took effect to file your General Protections Dispute – Termination claim.
Your employer must not take unlawful ‘adverse action’ against you (for example, terminate your employment) because or partly because of one or more of the following reasons:
For the purposes of this infosheet, ‘adverse action’ means terminating your employment or dismissing you from your job. If you have not been dismissed but have been demoted, treated less favourably than other employees, or not offered employment for an unlawful reason, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.
You have 21 days to file your claim in a federal court from the date of the unlawful adverse action if you have not been dismissed. The FWC may first hold a conference but only if your employer voluntarily agrees to attend. ‘Adverse action’ does not include an action that is authorised by a federal law or state and territory laws that are listed in the Act or its regulations.
For more information about how to apply for a General Protections Dispute – Termination Claim, download the full fact sheet.
Call our Telephone Information Service on Melbourne Metro (03) 9662 1933 or Regional Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania on 1800 331 617.
For those short on time, here’s a quick video giving a quick overview of eligibility criteria for making a General Protections Dispute – Termination (GPD-T) claim if you’ve been fired for an unlawful reason.
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