The FWC has pointed to a worker's knowledge of the 21-day deadline for filing general protections claims in declining to allow his late application to proceed, despite finding that responsibility for the delay rested "overwhelmingly" with his lawyers.
The FWC has extended time due to representative error, after a lawyer with "extensive experience in employment matters" who is also the author of an article on his firm's website about the "hurdles" to "jump over" to make an unfair dismissal claim, including the 21-day time limit, lodged a client's application four days late.
The FWC has refused to hear a BP worker's three-day late challenge to her sacking after she revealed she ignored a clear direction not to record the disciplinary meeting at which the employer summarily sacked her.
The FWC has extended time for an 11-days-late unfair dismissal claim, after finding the HR professional representing her incorrectly advised her to send a letter of demand to the employer in the interests of "procedural fairness", leading to her missing the 21-day deadline.
A presidential member placed too much emphasis on two workers' failure to chase up their unfair dismissal applications, a FWC full bench has ruled, finding the representative's miscalculation of the due date responsible for the whole delay.
