Guide · updated November 2026

Unfair dismissal guides

• The 21-day deadline for unfair dismissal
  You have 21 days after your dismissal takes effect to lodge with the Fair Work Commission. How to count the days, and what if you're late.
• Who can claim unfair dismissal?
  Minimum employment period, the A$190,100 high income threshold, casuals, contractors and small businesses: who can claim unfair dismissal.
• Unfair dismissal or general protections?
  Both have a 21-day deadline and you can only make one. The differences in eligibility, what you must prove, and outcomes.
• How much compensation for unfair dismissal?
  How the Fair Work Commission calculates compensation, the cap for dismissals from 1 July 2026, and what gets deducted.
• Conciliation: what to expect
  Conciliation is free, usually by phone, and where most unfair dismissal claims settle. What happens, what to say, and settlement terms to ask for.
• Filling in Form F2
  What the Fair Work Commission's unfair dismissal form asks for, and how to explain why your dismissal was unfair.
• The Small Business Fair Dismissal Code
  If your employer has fewer than 15 employees and followed the Code, the dismissal isn't unfair. What the Code requires.
• Was it a genuine redundancy?
  A genuine redundancy isn't unfair dismissal. The three tests that make a redundancy genuine, and when you can challenge it.
• Forced to resign: when it counts as dismissal
  A resignation can count as a dismissal if your employer forced it. What the FWC looks for, and the 21-day deadline.

More: The 21-day deadline for unfair dismissal · Who can claim unfair dismissal? · Unfair dismissal or general protections? · How much compensation for unfair dismissal? · Conciliation: what to expect · Filling in Form F2 · The Small Business Fair Dismissal Code · Was it a genuine redundancy? · Forced to resign: when it counts as dismissal