Don't be taken to the cleaners by unfair dismissal law changes

On Friday 20th March the new unfair dismissal laws were passed in parliament as part of Rudd's Fair Go legislation. Let's hope it really does result in a 'fair go' for Australian small business!

What you need to know about the new unfair dismissal laws:

• small business will now be defined as those employing under 15 people
• unfair dismissal claims can be brought against employers with over 15 people
• unfair dismissal costs can be as much as 6 months worth of salary
• those businesses with less than 15 staff still need to follow a process to ensure they don't unfairly dismiss and this includes completing a template detailing why they dismissed the person
• the unfair dismissal legislation will come in to effect from 1st July 2009
• If you employee more than 15 employees, employees can not take out an unfair dismissal claim until they have worked for more than 6 months with the organisation
• If you employ less than 15 employees they cannot take out an unfair dismissal claim of any kind until they have worked for 12 months

For more information visit http://www.workplace.gov.au/workplace/Publications/Legislation/FairWorkBill.htm