Your Rights When Filing A Claim
If you are filing a dismissal claim, here is what your rights actually are during the process.
What Rights Do You Have When Filing A Claim
Filing gives you the right to have your dismissal formally reviewed, starting with a written representation within 60 days, asking to be reinstated1. It does not by itself produce a payout or any other promised result.
That distinction matters, since many people assume filing alone settles the matter. What it actually does is open a process with defined steps, each with its own rights attached.
Where The Burden Actually Sits
Once filed, the employer must show the dismissal had just cause or excuse, not the other way round2. You have the right to have that burden respected throughout conciliation and any hearing that follows.
You also have the right to have your case move forward even if your employer does not engage, since the Department still arranges conciliation and, since the 2020 amendment, refers an unresolved case directly to the Industrial Court3.
What These Rights Mean For You
In practice, these rights mean you are not simply asking your employer for a favour. You are exercising a process the law sets out specifically for situations like yours.
Understanding this can make the process feel less like an uphill request and more like a structured route you are entitled to use.
Turning Rights Into Action
Start by checking your own dates on the 60-day deadline calculator, since a right that is not used in time cannot be enforced later. The Section 20 representation entity page sets out what filing involves in full.
For the same rights question applied to the court stage, see the guide on your rights at the Industrial Court.
Knowing your rights is the first step, and using them within the deadline is the second.
If you are unsure what your rights actually cover once you file, a lawyer can explain them in plain terms.
Common questions
What right does filing a representation actually give me
The right to have the Department consider your case, arrange conciliation, and, if unresolved, refer it to the Industrial Court. No particular outcome is promised by that process alone.
Who has to prove the dismissal was fair once I file
Your employer does. You do not need to prove your case from a position of doubt, since the burden sits with them to show just cause or excuse.
Do I have a right to be heard even without a lawyer
Yes. Conciliation is designed for you to speak for yourself, and the Department's process does not require legal representation to proceed.
What happens to my case if my employer ignores it
The process continues regardless. Conciliation is still arranged, and an unresolved case is still referred to the Industrial Court without needing your employer's cooperation.
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
- In an unfair dismissal case the burden falls on the employer to prove the dismissal was for just cause or excuse 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 are unsure what your rights actually cover once you file, a lawyer can explain them in plain terms.