GENERAL PROTECTIONS APPLICATIONS

If you have been dismissed for an unlawful reason, you may be able to consider bringing what is known as a general protections application rather than an unfair dismissal claim.

Unlawful reasons for dismissal can include dismissal because of your exercise of a workplace right, your involvement in industrial activity being temporarily absent from work or due to race, sex, age, religion, disability, political opinion and family or carer’s responsibilities.There are a number of advantages to a general protections application over an unfair dismissal claim, including an increased evidentiary burden on your employer and there being no limit on the amount of damages which can be awarded. 

In addition to a claim for compensation, a general protections application allows you to ask the Court to impose penalties against your employer for its unlawful conduct. 

General protections applications are also more complicated than unfair dismissal claims, which means they take longer to resolve, involve greater risk that your claim won’t succeed and cost more to pursue. Once you choose which sort of claim to pursue, you may not be able to change your mind. 

SMB Workplace & Employment Law can help you assess the pros and cons of a general protections application so that you can make the best choice of proceedings for you from the outset.