Types of workplace disputes

There are 3 types of termination disputes that can be made against an employer:

1. Unfair dismissal
2. General protections dismissal
3. Unlawful termination

Unfair dismissal is the most common type of termination dispute we deal with. An employee who believes they have been unfairly dismissed can apply to us for a remedy such as reinstatement and compensation. 

The Small Business Fair Dismissal Code (the Code) helps small business employers follow a fair process if they need to dismiss an employee. If a claim is made against your business, you can object on grounds that you have complied with the Code. See the rules for small business owners.

General protections dismissal is different because it is not about ‘fairness’. It is a claim that an employer broke the general protections laws because an employee was dismissed for a prohibited reason under the Fair Work Act. These include:

• discrimination
• workplace rights
• sham contracting
• temporary absence due to illness or injury
• freedom of association.

If a claim is made against your business, you must respond using the prescribed form provided to you. This is a very important step to enable us to hear and understand your side of the case.

The law protects most workers from bullying in the workplace. Responsible employers have policies and practices in place to prevent bullying and to resolve bullying complaints (sometimes called a ‘grievance’) when it occurs.

When a worker seeks our help to stop bullying at work, it is the start of a legal process. We will check if the worker has tried to resolve the issue in the workplace, if it was safe to do so, and consider other eligibility criteria.

We send a copy of the application to the employer (or principal) and the people who are named in it. We usually contact everyone involved before we decide how to help you reach agreement to resolve the bullying risks to the worker or to hear evidence about the application and decide the outcome.

If a claim is made against your business, you must respond using the prescribed form provided to you. This is a very important step to enable us to hear and understand your side of the case. See respond to a bullying claim for more information.

The law protects most workers from sexual harassment in connection with work. Responsible employers have policies and practices in place to prevent sexual harassment and to resolve complaints when they occur.

The laws covering sexual harassment in the workplace changed on 6 March 2023. When someone seeks our help to stop sexual harassment at work or seeks a remedy for alleged sexual harassment in connection with work, it is the start of a legal process.

We aim to resolve cases in a way that is fair, just and quick by helping everyone involved to reach agreement on the outcome. If they cannot agree, we will decide the outcome.

If a claim is made against your business, you must respond using the prescribed form provided to you. This is a very important step to enable us to hear and understand your side of the case. See How to respond to a sexual harassment dispute application.

Employees and potential employees are protected from discrimination at work. Employers who take harmful ('adverse') action because of discrimination may break general protections laws.

An employer must not behave in a way that harms a person because they have a certain feature or attribute.

If a claim is made against your business, we ask you to respond using the prescribed form provided to you. This is a valuable step to enable us to hear and understand your side of the case. You can decline our help at this stage or agree to participate in a conference. We will help you and your employee (or potential employee) reach an agreement that resolves the dispute.

Eligible employees can apply to us for help with resolving a dispute about a request for flexible working arrangements or an extension to unpaid parental leave.

We will check if the applicant has attempted to resolve the dispute with you and other eligibility criteria and then work with you and the applicant to resolve the dispute.

For more information about responding to these requests and these disputes, see Flexible work and unpaid parental leave requests.

The Fair Work Ombudsman provides best practice guidance on Flexible working arrangements, including:

• the characteristics of eligible employees
• reasonable business grounds for refusing a request, and
• a template for responding to a request.

An employee may want to change from casual to part-time or full-time employment. Disputes can happen when an employer says no to a conversion request.

An employer must not reduce or vary an employee’s hours of work, or terminate their employment in order to avoid converting the employee to part-time or full-time employment. See Casual to permanent status.

Awards and Enterprise agreements contain the minimum pay rates and conditions for employees. An employer and an employee (or more than one employee) may disagree how the conditions apply in their workplace.

The award or agreement will set out the dispute resolution procedure you must follow to resolve the dispute. You can apply to us for help if the dispute resolution procedure says you can.

We aim to help you and the employee representatives reach agreement. We may make a recommendation or issue an opinion.

See Dispute about an award or agreement.

When making an agreement, an employer and employee representatives may have a dispute. If you cannot continue the bargaining (agreement-making) process because of a problem, you can ask us for help so that you can finish the process.  

See Resolve a dispute about bargaining.

A union or registered organisation may want to talk to employees in their place of work. The employer may refuse if they have no right of entry.

See When an official can enter a workplace.