Unfair dismissal for Australian workers: the hundred-year journey

Article


Southey, Kim. 2015. "Unfair dismissal for Australian workers: the hundred-year journey." Asian Academy of Management Journal. 20 (1), pp. 147-164.
Article Title

Unfair dismissal for Australian workers: the hundred-year journey

ERA Journal ID40871
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorSouthey, Kim
Journal TitleAsian Academy of Management Journal
Journal Citation20 (1), pp. 147-164
Number of Pages18
Year2015
Place of PublicationMalaysia
ISSN1394-2603
Web Address (URL)http://web.usm.my/aamj/default.html
Abstract

This paper examines the journey Australia traversed in the development of the unfair dismissal protections it provides the majority of its workers, since the nation's Federation in 1901. Historically, the country's Constitutional 'heads of power' were intended to prohibit the federal government from regulating individual aspects of the employment relationship. Over time, such interpretations of the constitutional powers were challenged by governing parties, resulting in the modern-day, 'national' unfair dismissal protections afforded to the majority of workers. The journey Australians traversed during the architecture of their current unfair dismissal legislation provides a lesson on a government's ability to conjure significant influence on individual arrangements between management and workers. Despite Australia's participation in the worldwide, neoliberal push to deregulate labour markets, the protection of workers from unfair dismissal is an explicit matter in the employment relationship attracting increased regulation through industrial legislation. This paper culminates in reporting the consequences facing employers who improperly administer dismissals and how employers can take steps to mitigate such risks.

Keywordsindustrial legislation; labour market; termination of employment; unfair dismissal
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020350504. Industrial and employee relations
350503. Human resources management
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Byline AffiliationsSchool of Management and Enterprise
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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