How Long An Unfair Dismissal Case Takes
There is no fixed timeline, but each stage moves for reasons worth understanding.
How Long Does An Unfair Dismissal Case Take?
There is no fixed length, and any number quoted without context is a guess rather than a fact.
What actually drives the pace is whether conciliation settles the matter, how busy the relevant court is, and how complex your facts are.
Since the 2020 amendment to the Industrial Relations Act, a case that fails conciliation moves straight to the Industrial Court without a minister deciding whether it proceeds 1.
That change removed one source of delay, though it did not fix a standard length for the stages that follow.
Why Duration Actually Matters To You
Length is not just about patience, it connects to money.
Back wages are assessed from the date of dismissal to the last day of hearing, capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer 2.
That cap means a long case does not automatically produce a larger award once the ceiling is reached, so speed and outcome are related but not identical questions.
Post dismissal earnings can also be deducted from that figure, which is another reason to track your own income carefully while the case is open.
What You Can Control While You Wait
You cannot control the court calendar, but you can control how ready your case is at each stage.
Read about what happens during conciliation at the Industrial Relations Department so that stage does not feel like a surprise.
If your case reaches a hearing, understanding what to expect at the Industrial Court in advance will make the wait easier to manage.
Confirm your own filing date now with a deadline calculator, since that first 60 day step is the one deadline that is fixed.
Some workers find the uncertainty around timing harder to manage than the process itself, especially once conciliation is behind them and a hearing date is still unknown.
Keeping your job search, finances, and other plans moving in parallel, rather than pausing everything to wait, tends to make the uncertainty easier to sit with.
Asking your employment lawyer for a rough update every so often, rather than only at major milestones, can also help the waiting period feel less like a black box.
Waiting is hard.
Small updates help.
Ask for them often.
There is no need to face the wait alone.
An employment lawyer who has handled similar claims can give you a realistic sense of pace once they see your specific documents and dates.
Common questions
Is there a maximum time limit for the whole case?
No fixed ceiling applies to the process itself, though the back wages a case can produce are capped once an award is made. The case can, in principle, run past that cap while still being live, so length and payout are not the same question.
Does settling at conciliation make things faster?
Usually, yes. A case that settles during conciliation avoids the referral and hearing stages entirely, which are the stages that add the most time. That is one reason conciliation is worth taking seriously rather than treating as a formality.
Can I work another job while my case is ongoing?
Generally yes, and doing so is sensible given the uncertainty around timing. Post dismissal earnings can affect the back wages calculation, so keep records of any new income and mention this clearly to your employment lawyer.
Does a stronger case move faster?
Not automatically, since scheduling and the employer's response affect pace as much as the strength of your facts. A well documented case is easier to progress at each stage, which can help, even if it does not fix the calendar.
Sources
- Since the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2020, the Director General refers a case straight to the Industrial Court once conciliation fails, removing the ministerial screening step that used to add delay. MECA
- Back wages are assessed from the date of dismissal to the last day of hearing, capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer. DNH
Keep reading
An employment lawyer who has handled similar claims can give you a realistic sense of pace once they see your specific documents and dates.