Redundancy

Sometimes a career change can be forced upon you. You could be dismissed if your role or position has been made redundant. This may happen if your employer:

• decides they no longer want your job to be done by anyone
• is bankrupt or insolvent
• is going through a relocation, merger, takeover or restructure
• introduces new technology (i.e. your job can be done by a machine).

Redundancy payments

The National Employment Standards set out what redundancy pay may apply to an employee on the termination of their employment.

There may be various situations when you're not eligible to receive redundancy payments.

If you are eligible for payments, you can work out what payment to expect.

If you believe you've not received the right amount of redundancy pay, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94 for help in recovering your outstanding entitlements.

You may be entitled to financial help from the Australian Government if your employer went bankrupt or into liquidation. There are 2 schemes depending on the date of the bankruptcy or liquidation. They are the:

• Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG)—on or after 5 December 2012
• General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS)—before 5 December 2012, and only in limited circumstances.

Unfair dismissal

If you think you have been unfairly dismissed, you can contact the Fair Work Ombudsman. They will consider a range of factors and may decide if your dismissal or termination was:

• harsh, unjust or unreasonable
• not a genuine redundancy.

Before making an unfair dismissal complaint you should speak to your employer.

Find out how to make an application for unfair dismissal.

Support and advice

If you have recently been dismissed or affected by redundancy, you can access support and advice through a range of services, including:

• Workforce Australia—the transition support network helps reconnect people recently dismissed from their jobs with job opportunities (you can also phone 13 62 68)
• Worker Transition Scheme and rapid response—a suite of information and support services to workers who find themselves without a job as a result of business closures and redundancy programs
• What's Next—helps workers who have been retrenched to find new jobs or try something new
• Centrelink—offers financial support and help to find a new job (you can also phone 13 24 68)
• Career counselling—speak with a career adviser to find careers that suit your skills
• Legal Aid Queensland—offers legal advice for people dismissed unfairly (you can also phone 1300 651 188).

Related links

• Small Business Fair Dismissal Code—applies to businesses with less than 15 employees.
• Losing your job or income—information on financial assistance, rebates, concessions and finding work.
• Career advice—improve your skills to get back into the workforce or plan and start a new career.