In the Hills District, there are a lot of successful “small” business that have been in operation for some time. Over time they have hired staff to keep up with their business growth.
If you have 15 or more employees (including casuals) you need to ensure you have the right policies and procedures in place to protect your business from potential issues such as unfair dismiss claims, harassment and many more.
The Fair Work Act brought in the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code on 1 July 2009.
The Fair Dismissal Code applies to small business employers with fewer than 15 employees (calculated on a simple headcount of all employees including casual employees who are employed on a regular and systematic basis). Small business employees cannot make a claim for unfair dismissal in the first 12 months following their engagement. If an employee is dismissed after this period and the employer has followed the Code then the dismissal will be deemed to be fair.
Employees who have been dismissed because of a business downturn or their position is no longer needed cannot bring a claim for unfair dismissal. However, the redundancy needs to be genuine. Re-filling the position with a new employee is not a genuine redundancy. The requirements for determining whether a dismissal was a genuine redundancy are contained in section 389 of the Fair Work Act.
Further information on the application of the Code you can contact https://www.fwc.gov.au/ or Norwest HR.
Norwest HR can assist your business by implementing HR structure tailored to suit your business needs.
Excellent info 👍🏻
Thank you for the feedback.