I was made redundant 15 months ago. The company then opened a position very similar to my role 5 months after my redundancy. This is now affecting my ability to gain employment and is being viewed unfavourably by potential employers. What legal action, if any, is available to me under employment law and was the opening of a similar position illegal?
VIC Redundancy - Employer Opened New Position Similar to Mine
- Thread starter Brandy Johnstone
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- employment law redundancy
Hi Brandy,
Why were you made redundant? Can you explain the circumstances around your redundancy?
It is difficult to say whether re-advertising a similar position to yours 5 months after you were made redundant breaches employment law. There certainly isn't the closeness in time to directly link you leaving and the rehiring.
Additionally, why are you only pursuing this now? Generally unfair dismissal claims arising out of improper redundancies need to be made 21 days after the date of dismissal. And you are now 10 months on from discovering the job advertisement.
Why were you made redundant? Can you explain the circumstances around your redundancy?
It is difficult to say whether re-advertising a similar position to yours 5 months after you were made redundant breaches employment law. There certainly isn't the closeness in time to directly link you leaving and the rehiring.
Additionally, why are you only pursuing this now? Generally unfair dismissal claims arising out of improper redundancies need to be made 21 days after the date of dismissal. And you are now 10 months on from discovering the job advertisement.
Hi Brandy,
I agree with Ivy's comments but also prospective employers generally don't view a person whose role was made redundant with disfavour as the whole idea of redundancy is that through no fault of their own an employees position is now no longer being required to be performed by anyone.
I agree with Ivy's comments but also prospective employers generally don't view a person whose role was made redundant with disfavour as the whole idea of redundancy is that through no fault of their own an employees position is now no longer being required to be performed by anyone.
A higher manager was employed to oversee my department. This person took me aside to explain that if we had an out of stock product, I would be fired. He did this by drawing a door on a whiteboard and a stick figure with an arrow pointing out the door with the statement 'this is what will happen to you if we run out of stock. I took this to the HR department and as a result was made redundant a couple of months later. I did not pursue the matter and when I saw a very similar position advertised I brushed it off as I didn't want to be viewed as a pest and wanted to keep some decorum in the matter and move on. I had a job interview yesterday when it was posed to me, that why were you made redundant and your position re advertised a few months later? It has only just become apparent to me the damage to my work reputation and that this information is affecting my employability. I have done absolutely nothing wrong and have conducted myself with professionalism through the experience and also have reference from the general manager of this company. This does not distract from the companies actions and is directly affecting my life which I believe they are accountable for in some aspect?
Brandy,
If you were posting this a couple of weeks after your employment termination, then I would be strongly suggesting that you pursue this matter with the fair work ombudsman because it sounds more like an unfair dismissal than a genuine dismissal. However, because this is so far down the line, you're not going to be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim.
I still suggest that you contact Fair Work and talk to them to see if you have any options. You may even want to call an employment lawyer if you really want to make sure that you have been made aware of all your options. However no simple or definite cause of action comes to mind.
If you were posting this a couple of weeks after your employment termination, then I would be strongly suggesting that you pursue this matter with the fair work ombudsman because it sounds more like an unfair dismissal than a genuine dismissal. However, because this is so far down the line, you're not going to be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim.
I still suggest that you contact Fair Work and talk to them to see if you have any options. You may even want to call an employment lawyer if you really want to make sure that you have been made aware of all your options. However no simple or definite cause of action comes to mind.
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