Employment Law

In employment disputes the argument usually turns not on whether an employment relationship existed but on how it ended and which entitlements remained unpaid up to that point. How the termination is characterised determines directly which entitlements arise.

The ground of dismissal cannot be changed afterwards

An employer is bound throughout the proceedings by the ground on which it notified the dismissal; reasons added later are not taken into account. The wording of the termination notice is therefore the most decisive document in the file. From the employee's side, the circumstances in which a resignation letter was signed affect the fate of the claims.

Entitlement calculations are built on records

For overtime, weekly rest day and public holiday claims the basis of the calculation lies in the workplace entry and exit records, payslips and bank movements. Claims unsupported by such records may be advanced through witness evidence, but the amount then rests on judicial discretion. We therefore build the file from the records first.

The principal matters we handle in this field:

• Severance and notice pay and other employment entitlements
• Reinstatement proceedings and assessment of the validity of a dismissal
• Calculation of overtime, holiday and wage claims
• Compensation claims arising from workplace accidents and occupational disease
• Drafting of contracts, workplace regulations and termination procedures on the employer side

In files arising from workplace accidents the compensation calculation is built on the degree of permanent incapacity, so institutional records and medical reports are examined together.