Unfair Dismissal Or Wrongful Dismissal
These two legal terms sound alike but lead to different claims and different courts.
What Is The Difference Between Unfair And Wrongful Dismissal?
Unfair dismissal asks whether the employer had a good enough reason to end your job.
Wrongful dismissal asks whether the employer broke the contract itself, usually by not giving proper notice.
Unfair dismissal claims go through the Industrial Relations Department and then the Industrial Court, under the Industrial Relations Act.
Wrongful dismissal claims are contract disputes and usually go through the civil courts instead.
Most workers dismissed without a fair reason or process are looking at an unfair dismissal claim, not a wrongful one.
Which One Applies To You
If your real complaint is that there was no good reason, or you never got a chance to explain, that points toward unfair dismissal.
A worker who believes the dismissal had no just cause or excuse has 60 days from the dismissal date to lodge a written representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations 1.
If your complaint is narrower, such as the company ending your contract without paying notice you were owed, that leans toward a wrongful dismissal claim.
Some situations raise both issues at once, and a lawyer can usually tell within one conversation which claim, or combination, fits your facts.
What To Do Next
Before choosing a route, check what remedy each one can realistically produce.
An Industrial Court award for unfair dismissal can include back wages, capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer 2.
Read through how the unfair dismissal process actually works so you know what filing a Section 20 representation involves before you commit.
If notice pay or contract terms are the main issue, say so clearly when you speak to an employment lawyer, since the paperwork and the forum differ.
Confirm your own timeline first with a deadline calculator, because the 60-day window applies no matter which claim turns out to be right.
It helps to write both possibilities down side by side: what an unfair dismissal claim would argue, and what a wrongful dismissal claim would argue.
Seeing the two written out separately often makes it obvious which one actually matches your facts, rather than trying to hold both ideas in your head at once.
Picking the perfect legal label before you speak to anyone is not necessary, since that is exactly the kind of judgment call an employment lawyer is used to making quickly once they see your documents.
Labels matter less than facts.
Bring your documents.
The right claim usually becomes obvious from there.
Once you know roughly which route your facts point toward, it helps to confirm that with an employment lawyer before the filing window closes.
Common questions
Can I bring both an unfair dismissal and a wrongful dismissal claim?
Sometimes the same facts support both, for example a dismissal with no fair reason that also skipped the notice period you were owed. An employment lawyer can look at your contract and the dismissal letter together and tell you whether both routes are worth pursuing.
Is wrongful dismissal about how I was fired, not why?
That is close to right. Wrongful dismissal usually focuses on whether the employer honoured the contract terms, notice included, while unfair dismissal focuses on whether the reason and process behind the decision were fair under the Industrial Relations Act.
Which route is faster?
Neither route is quick, but they move differently. Unfair dismissal claims go through conciliation before the Industrial Court, while wrongful dismissal is a civil suit. Speed depends on the specific facts more than the label attached to the claim.
What if I am not sure which one fits?
That is common, and it is exactly the kind of question worth raising early with an employment lawyer rather than guessing alone. Bring your termination letter and contract, since those two documents usually settle which route applies.
Sources
- A worker who believes a dismissal had no just cause or excuse has 60 days from the dismissal date to lodge a written representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- Back wages awarded for unfair dismissal are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer. DNH
Keep reading
Once you know roughly which route your facts point toward, it helps to confirm that with an employment lawyer before the filing window closes.