How Long Filing A Claim Takes
Here is how the filing process itself unfolds once you write to the Director General.
How Do You Actually File A Representation
Filing means writing to the Director General of Industrial Relations. You state that you believe you were dismissed without just cause, within sixty days of the dismissal1.
This is a written representation, not a court filing. It goes to JPPM, not to a courtroom.
Include the dismissal date, a short account of what happened, and any supporting documents. Getting this letter right matters more for the next stage than for the deadline itself.
What Happens After JPPM Receives It
Once JPPM has your representation, the department arranges conciliation2. That is usually one or two sessions with an officer mediating.
Solicitors are not permitted to represent either side at this stage. The letter you filed and the account you give matter directly.
If conciliation resolves the matter, the process ends there. If it does not, the case moves to the next stage automatically. You do not need to file anything further yourself.
What The 2020 Change Means For You
Before the amendment, an unresolved case went to the Minister of Human Resources for a discretionary decision. Since the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2020 took effect, the Director General refers the case straight to the Industrial Court instead3.
In practice, your representation has a clearer path forward once conciliation fails. It no longer depends on a separate decision about whether it continues.
Getting Your Filing Right The First Time
Confirm your deadline first. Use the sixty day deadline calculator, since the representation must be filed within that window.
The Section 20 representation entity page sets out what the letter should cover. For what happens once a case reaches the court, see the Industrial Court entity page and the guide on how long an Industrial Court case takes.
A lawyer can review your account before you file. The representation is then less likely to need correcting later.
If you want to understand exactly how your own representation would move through this process, a lawyer can walk you through it.
Common questions
Who exactly do I write my representation to
Your written representation goes to the Director General of Industrial Relations, not directly to the Industrial Court. JPPM, the Industrial Relations Department, is the office that receives and processes it.
What does JPPM do after I file
JPPM arranges conciliation, usually one or two sessions with an officer mediating between you and your employer. This stage is meant to see whether the matter can be resolved without going further.
What happens if conciliation does not settle the matter
Since a 2020 amendment, the Director General refers an unresolved case directly to the Industrial Court, without the ministerial screening step that used to exist. You do not need to file anything further yourself to trigger that referral.
Can anyone promise how long my case will take overall
No one can promise an exact length, since court schedules and case complexity vary. A lawyer can still give you a realistic sense once they understand how your representation was filed and received.
Sources
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations, asking to be reinstated, within 60 days of the dismissal Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- After a representation is lodged, the Industrial Relations Department arranges conciliation, usually one or two sessions where an officer mediates; solicitors are not permitted to represent parties at conciliation Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- Since the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2020 came into force on 1 January 2021, the Director General now refers a case that does not settle at conciliation directly to the Industrial Court MECA
Keep reading
If you want to understand exactly how your own representation would move through this process, a lawyer can walk you through it.