Question On Notice No. 228 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 17 August 2021 by Dr D.J. Honey
Question Directed to the: Minister representing the Minister for Industrial Relations
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer to each of the three financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21, and I ask
:
(a) How many unfair dismissal claims were registered with the Industrial Relations Commission each year;
(b) How many of those cases, for each year, resulted in the applicant:
(i) being returned to employment only;
(ii) receiving a compensation payment only; and
(iii) being returned to employment and receiving a compensation payment;
(c) How many of the unfair dismissal claims, each year, involved claims by people who had resigned from their positions rather than having been dismissed; and
(d) Of the cases referred to in (c), how many cases, for each year, resulted in the applicant:
(i) being returned to employment only;
(ii) receiving a compensation payment only; and
(iii) being returned to employment and receiving a compensation payment?
Answered on 13 October 2021
(a)
|
|
Year
2018-19
|
Year
2019-20
|
Year
2020-21
|
|
Number of Unfair
Dismissal Claims lodged
|
95
|
140
|
83
|
(b), (c) & (d)
The Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (the Commission) is an independent tribunal and a court of record. The Chief Commissioner therefore provides an Annual Report to the Minister for Industrial Relations which is presented to the Parliament, addressing the statistics of all matters dealt with by the Commission.
All matters relating to unfair dismissal filed with the Registrar are referred to the Commission for conciliation in the first instance. If resolved, all outcomes and the Terms of Agreement remain confidential between the parties, with only an Order issuing by the Commission to discontinue the application. Those Terms of Agreement being confidential, the statistics requested are therefore not available in relation to matters that are settled by the parties.
If a matter is instead determined by arbitration before the Commission, a Decision will be issued addressing the merits of each individual matter. Decisions are refined to meet the particulars of each specific claim and statistics on the reasons for Decisions of the Commission or the reason for an application, have not been accumulated by the Commission as the veracity of the data would be inconsistent, and therefore potentially misleading.