Employees
Don’t lose your chance to seek the justice you deserve. If you think you’ve been unfairly dismissed, contact our team immediately for a confidential discussion about your employment rights.
Employers
If you think you have had a wrongful, unfair dismissal claim made against you and need assistance defending your company, contact our team immediately for a confidential discussion about where you stand.
Understand Your Rights
Our unfair dismissal lawyers help you understand your rights as an employee so you get confidence that your unfair dismissal claim is valid. Similarly, we assist employers in understanding where they stand in unfair dismissal matters and determining whether the claim against them is valid and defensible.
Fast-Track Your Case
Our expert team gives you expert legal advice, handling your case efficiently, so you don’t miss your chance to lodge an unfair dismissal claim or respond to an unfair dismissal claim in the case of employers.
Resolve Your Dispute Quickly
We manage your case effectively so you can resolve your unfair dismissal claim faster and get the justice you deserve sooner.
If you think you may have been unfairly dismissed from your job, there’s no time to waste. You only have 21 days to lodge an unfair dismissal claim—outside of that time; your claim will only be accepted under strictly exceptional circumstances.
We don’t want you to miss out on your 21-day window to lodge a claim for unfair dismissal, so we’re here to help.
Get in touch with our specialist employment law team immediately. Our experienced lawyers will work with you to understand your situation, define your case, and help you gather the evidence you need to present your unfair dismissal claim to the Fair Work Commission—and you get your chance to seek justice for your dismissal.
The strength of your written application has a significant bearing upon the likelihood of success in your claim; it is, therefore, critical to gain legal advice and consultation on the same.
If you have received an application for unfair dismissal against your company, you must act swiftly, as you only have seven days to lodge a response on behalf of your company.
We don’t want you to miss out on your 7-day window to respond to a claim for unfair dismissal, so we’re here to help.
Get in touch with our specialist employment law team immediately. Our experienced lawyers will work with you to understand your situation, define your case, and help you gather the evidence you need to respond to the Fair Work Commission—and you get your chance to tell your side of the story concerning the claim.
The strength of your written response has a significant bearing upon the likelihood of success in your response; it is, therefore, critical to gain legal advice and consultation on the same.
Complete the form below and our highly qualified team will be in touch to determine if we are the right fit.
We’re the unfair dismissal lawyers Sydney employees trust to protect your right to work. We specialise in all aspects of employment law and will ensure that you have the correct support throughout the legal process.
If you think you may have been unfairly dismissed from your job, there’s no time to waste. You only have 21 days to lodge an unfair dismissal claim—outside of that time, and your claim will only be accepted under exceptional circumstances.
Stevens & Associates has been providing expert and comprehensive employment law services since 2004, helping Sydney employees navigate the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and Small Business Fair Dismissal Code so you can make a claim that gets you closure.
Our law firm exists to guide employees and employers alike through this turbulent time, help you understand your grounds for termination, and support you in filing a claim for unfair dismissal that gets you the compensation you deserve.
So if you believe you’ve been unfairly dismissed from work or need assistance in responding to an unfair dismissal application, contact our expert employment lawyers today. Strict time limits apply to wrongful termination, unfair dismissal and adverse action cases, and you may be unable to claim compensation if you don’t act promptly.
We will provide expert legal advice and work with you to achieve positive outcomes.
Unfair dismissal occurs when an employee is terminated from their job in a way that has no valid reason and is considered harsh, unjust, or unreasonable.
This can include:
Under the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code, there are some concrete reasons for a fair dismissal.
These include:
An unfair dismissal can look like this:
Most employees will be provided with at least one written warning or clearly communicated with unless very serious misconduct is alleged.
If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated from your job, you only have 21 days to lodge a claim for unfair dismissal. Fair Work Commission Applications must be made within 21 days of your unfair termination taking effect. If you miss this deadline, it’s doubtful that the Fair Work Commission will accept your application, and you’ll be ineligible for compensation.
The bad news: simply not knowing about the 21-day time limit isn’t enough to claim an extension. However, there may be exceptional circumstances under which you can seek extra time and still be eligible to make your unfair dismissal application. Your unfair dismissal lawyer can advise you on whether or not your claim may be able to be accepted under extension.
Employers have seven days to respond to an unfair dismissal application in the Fair Work Commission.
After this time, the Fair Work Commission may choose not to accept any information you provide in your defence and will likely take the lack of submissions into account in their decision on the unfair dismissal.
Therefore, you must contact an employment lawyer and seek advice well in advance of any deadline to file and serve response material.
When making any unfair dismissal claims, you must have clear evidence that proves that your dismissal was unfair. This can include:
If you believe that your termination was unfair, then you are eligible to claim unfair dismissal with the Fair Work Commission. You must meet the following criteria:
You have completed a minimum employment period with your employer. The minimum employment period is six months if your employer has 15 or more staff. If your employer has fewer than 15 employees, the minimum employment period is 12 months. This headcount includes casual, part-time, and permanent employees; and
You earned less than the high-income threshold. The Fair Work Commission’s Fair Work Act 2009 currently states the high-income threshold as $162,000; or
A Modern Award or Enterprise Agreement covers your employment.
We recommend speaking with an unfair dismissal lawyer as soon as you believe you’ve received an unfair dismissal. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, you only have 21 days from your termination date to lodge a claim for unfair dismissal.
If you have been fired from your employment in any of the following situations, you should get in touch with an unfair dismissal lawyer to support your claim. You may have been:
Under Australian and New South Wales employment law, an employee can be terminated without prior warning. However, it must be justified.
A termination of employment without warning may be considered justified if the employee:
If you’re an Award Employee, you have rights under Australian and New South Wales employment law that entitle you to sue your employer for unfair dismissal.
If you’re not an Award Employee, you can still sue your employer for unfair dismissal if you meet some specific criteria. These criteria include:
If you feel that you’re being treated unfairly at work, you have options available to you. Let’s look at practical steps when you feel your workplace is treating you unfairly.
Log every time you feel you are being mistreated. Take notes of each discriminatory action, including the time, date, the parties involved, and what happened.
Understand your rights. Familiarise yourself with your workplace policies, employment contract, and award or enterprise agreement.
Address the situation as early as possible. Don’t leave things until they become unbearable. Address the situation head-on and speak to your HR representative as soon as possible to ensure you get the support you need, and see if it can’t be resolved sooner.
Seek advice through the necessary channels. If you’re part of a union, contact your union representative. If you’re not, consider contacting an unfair dismissal lawyer and discuss your discrimination.
Our experienced employment lawyers in Sydney help you receive the compensation you deserve. Contact us immediately within 21 days of your termination if you believe you’ve been unfairly dismissed.
We can ensure that you’re listened to, and supported and that you’re able to build a case to take your unfair dismissal to the Fair Work Commission—and win.
Specialist employment law firm Stevens & Associates offers a free and confidential initial call with one of our employment law solicitors, which our team will only use to assess if we are a good fit for each other.
A highly-skilled employment law team member will take you through our legal services, taking the time to understand your needs and goals and advise on how best to move forward with your matter.
Specialist employment law firm Stevens & Associates offers a free and confidential initial call with one of our employment law solicitors, which our team will only use to assess if we are a good fit for each other.
A highly-skilled employment law team member will take you through our legal services, taking the time to understand your needs and goals and advise on how best to move forward with your matter.
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Mr Sathananthan (“the Applicant”) claimed he was being constructively dismissed from his employer (“the Respondent”) after being expected to work excessive hours well beyond his contractual terms. As this case will demonstrates, employers ought to
The full bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has upheld a decision that the dismissal of a residential aged-care facility receptionist, Ms Kimber, who refused to receive a flu vaccine, was not harsh, unjust
Periods of casual employment may be more likely to count as service for the purposes of eligibility to bring an unfair dismissal claim following a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission Full Bench (FWCFB).
Talk to our Sydney Unfair Dismissal Lawyers for expert advice & support.