Robyn Anderson posted on January 04, 2011 11:41
1 January 2011 brought with it a change to the definition of a small business under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth.). This has implications for unfair dismissal qualifying periods.
From 1 January 2011, the definition of a small business for the purposes of the Fair Work Act will change to less than 15 employees based on a head count of total employees rather than full-time equivalent employees
In other words, after 31 December 2010, the relevant definition of “Small Business Employer” for all Fair Work Act purposes will be an employer that employs less than 15 employees on a total head count, including full time, part-time and "regular and systematic" casual employees – so the definition of “small businesses” will be narrower. An employer must include in the calculation the employee who is being dismissed, any other employees being dismissed and employees of "Associated Entities" (as defined by the Corporations Act 2001).
Correctly identifying whether your business is considered a “small business” under the Fair Work Act is critical when determining your unfair dismissal obligations.
Businesses who will no longer be able to meet the "small business" definition (for the purposes of the Fair Work Act) will no longer be able to rely on the small business unfair dismissal exemption (where an employee must have been employed with the business for 12 months before qualifying for unfair dismissal coverage) but instead will have an employee being able to access unfair dismissal after serving only 6 months employment.
Any business finding that they are now unable to meet the "small business" definition is advised to seek professional assistance (such as that provided by HR Navigation) in any aspect of performance management.