Can You Get Your Job Back?
You want your job back, and the law asks for that before it asks for money.
Losing a case is not the only outcome that matters here. Getting your job back is what the law asks for first.
This page looks at what reinstatement means, when it happens, and what tends to happen instead.
What does reinstatement mean?
Reinstatement means the Industrial Court orders your employer to give you your job back, on the same terms as before. It is the remedy a Section 20 representation is built to seek.1
Back wages, the pay you lost while the case ran, can be ordered alongside it. Compensation in place of your job only enters the picture if reinstatement itself is not ordered.1
Why does the law ask for your job back first?
The Industrial Relations Act treats your job as the thing that was wrongly taken, not a debt to be settled in cash. That is why the claim process starts with a written request to be reinstated, not a demand for money.2
You have 60 days from your dismissal to lodge that request with the Director General of Industrial Relations.2 You can work out your exact deadline once you know the date.
When does the Industrial Court actually order it?
The Court looks at whether trust between you and your employer can realistically be rebuilt. A short dispute over one incident is a different case from months of conflict, or a role that no longer exists.
Every case turns on its own facts, so no one can tell you in advance which way yours will go.
What happens if reinstatement is not realistic?
Where the Court decides reinstatement is not workable, it can order compensation instead. Back wages alongside that award are capped at 24 months of last-drawn salary for a confirmed employee, or 12 months for a probationer.3
That outcome is common, not a sign your claim was weak. Trust can break down for reasons that have little to do with who was in the right.
How does the 60-day deadline connect to this?
The deadline governs whether you can ask for reinstatement at all, so it comes before any question of which remedy suits you. Missing it can close the door on the claim entirely, so read the 60-day deadline page next.
The whole process, from filing through the Industrial Court, is set out in the legal process.
What should you do this week?
Decide, even loosely, whether going back to that workplace is something you would want. It shapes how a lawyer frames your claim from the start.
Then gather your letter, contract and payslips, and get a sense of your options before the 60 days runs down.
If getting your job back matters to you, that is worth saying early, since it can change how your case is built. Tell us what happened and whether reinstatement is really what you want.
Common questions
Is reinstatement the only remedy the law offers?
No. Reinstatement is what the claim primarily asks for, but the Industrial Court can order compensation and back wages instead, especially once trust has broken down. Both routes come from the same Section 20 representation, so you do not choose between them at the start.
Does the Industrial Court reinstate people often?
Not as often as the claim's wording suggests. Many cases end in compensation instead, once the Court weighs whether the working relationship can genuinely continue. That is a common outcome, not a sign a claim was weak.
What if I do not want my old job back?
You can still bring the claim. Tell your lawyer early that reinstatement is not what you want, since it can shape how the case and any settlement talks are framed from the start.
Can my employer simply refuse to take me back?
An employer cannot ignore a reinstatement order once the Industrial Court makes one. In practice, though, many cases resolve with compensation instead, particularly where the working relationship has broken down beyond repair.
Does asking for reinstatement slow my case down?
No. It is the standard first request in every Section 20 representation, not an optional extra step. What affects timing is mainly whether conciliation settles the matter or it proceeds to the Industrial Court.
Sources
- The primary remedy an unfair dismissal claim seeks is reinstatement to the employee's former job; back wages or compensation follow only if reinstatement is ordered, or awarded in lieu of it. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- 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 (Section 20, Industrial Relations Act 1967). Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- Back wages ordered by the Industrial Court are capped at 24 months of last-drawn salary for a confirmed employee, and 12 months for a probationer (Second Schedule, Industrial Relations Act 1967). Donovan & Ho, Back Wages at the Industrial Court
Keep reading
If getting your job back matters to you, that is worth saying early, since it can change how your case is built. Tell us what happened and whether reinstatement is really what you want.