In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation.
A similar definition existed at the Commonwealth level,[4] however it was considerably limited by the requirement under the Constitution to establish an inter-state dispute.
[12] Protection from unfair dismissal at the Commonwealth level was enhanced in 1984 by the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission with its ruling in the Termination, Change and Redundancy Case,[2][13] that awards should contain a provision that dismissal "shall not be harsh, unjust or unreasonable" and subsequent awards following it were upheld by the High Court of Australia.
[14][15][16] The Parliament of Australia later extended the reach of protection from unfair dismissal with the passage of the Industrial Relations Reform Act 1993,[17] which was based on the external affairs power and the ILO Termination of Employment Convention, 1982.
"[38] Where the dismissal is determined to be unjust, the adjudicator has broad remedial authority, including ordering the payment of compensation and reinstatement to employment.
[43] Where dismissal occurs on economic grounds,[44] the employee has the right to be notified of the employer's obligation during the following 12 months to inform him of any position that becomes available that calls for his qualifications.
[45] An employee may challenge a dismissal by making a complaint to the Labour Court (French: Conseil de prud'hommes).
[52][49] Where an employee has had at least one year's service, the employer also faces a separate claim for severance pay (French: indemnité de licenciement).
As in the above case, it amounts to the sum of remuneration for the period from 2 weeks to 3 months, not lower than he would have earned while working on notice.