Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FAIR WORK ACT 2009 - SECT 117

Notice specifying day of termination

  (1)   An employer must not terminate an employee's employment unless the employer has given the employee written notice of the day of the termination (which cannot be before the day the notice is given).

Note 1:   Section   123 describes situations in which this section does not apply.

Note 2:   Sections   28A and 29 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provide how a notice may be given. In particular, the notice may be given to an employee by:

(a)   delivering it personally; or

(b)   leaving it at the employee's last known address; or

(c)   sending it by pre - paid post to the employee's last known address.

Amount of notice or payment in lieu of notice

  (2)   The employer must not terminate the employee's employment unless:

  (a)   the time between giving the notice and the day of the termination is at least the period (the minimum period of notice ) worked out under subsection   (3); or

  (b)   the employer has paid to the employee (or to another person on the employee's behalf) payment in lieu of notice of at least the amount the employer would have been liable to pay to the employee (or to another person on the employee's behalf) at the full rate of pay for the hours the employee would have worked had the employment continued until the end of the minimum period of notice.

  (3)   Work out the minimum period of notice as follows:

  (a)   first, work out the period using the following table:

  (b)   then increase the period by 1 week if the employee is over 45 years old and has completed at least 2 years of continuous service with the employer at the end of the day the notice is given.

  (4)   A reference in this section to continuous service with the employer does not include periods of employment as a casual employee of the employer.