Do you need a workplace lawyer? Guides by situation
Most workplace problems have a deadline, a process, and a point where paying for advice starts to make sense. These guides set out all three for each situation, plainly, so you can decide. Each one links the free FairWork Mate tools for that matter and explains the free route through the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94). When a matter genuinely needs a lawyer, FairWork Mate refers to Liquid Employment Lawyers, a paid legal partner.
30 guides. General information, not legal advice. FairWork Mate is not affiliated with the Fair Work Commission or the Fair Work Ombudsman.
If you're an employee
Dismissal, discrimination, harassment, bullying and pay recovery — what the process is, the deadlines, and when advice is worth paying for.
21 days to lodge, a $92.70 fee, compensation capped at $95,050. What the Commission looks at, when a lawyer pays for itself, and the free route.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal taking effect
General protections claim: do you need a lawyer for adverse actionDismissed or punished for complaining, taking leave or a workplace right? 21 days if dismissed, no compensation cap, reverse onus. When advice pays off.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal
Forced to resign: constructive dismissal and whether you need a lawyerResigned because you had no real choice? A forced resignation can count as a dismissal, but the 21-day clock still runs and the proof is on you. Lawyer or not?
Time limit: 21 days from the resignation taking effect
Was your redundancy genuine? Challenging it, and whether you need a lawyerA redundancy is only a defence to unfair dismissal if the job really went, consultation happened and redeployment was considered. How to test it, in 21 days.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal taking effect
Dismissed during probation: what you can and cannot claimProbation does not switch off the law. Unfair dismissal needs 6 months' service, but general protections and unpaid entitlements have no minimum. What applies.
Time limit: 6 months' service, or 12 months with a small business employer
Dismissed while sick or injured: what the law protects, and when to get adviceDismissal because of a temporary illness or injury is prohibited, with a 3-month unpaid-absence limit. 21 days to claim. What applies, and when a lawyer helps.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal
Dismissed by a small business: the 12-month rule, the Code, and your optionsUnder 15 employees means a 12-month qualifying period and the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code. What still applies, what does not, and when advice pays off.
Time limit: 12 months' continuous service
Workplace discrimination claim: deadlines, process and whether you need a lawyer21 days to lodge if you were dismissed over a protected attribute. What a discrimination claim involves, the free route, and when a lawyer is worth it.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal taking effect
Sexual harassment claim: your options, the 24-month rule and whether you need a lawyerSexual harassment disputes lodged over 24 months after the last incident can be dismissed. Stop orders vs compensation, the free route, when to get a lawyer.
Time limit: The Commission may dismiss an application made more than 24 months after the last alleged contravention
Workplace bullying stop order: what it can and cannot do, and whether you need a lawyerA stop bullying order needs an ongoing risk at work and awards no compensation. What the Commission looks at, the free route, and when a lawyer helps.
Time limit: No fixed deadline, but only available while there is a real, ongoing risk at work (in practice, while you are still employed there)
Pregnancy and parental leave discrimination: deadlines, process and when to get a lawyer21 days to lodge if you were dismissed while pregnant or on parental leave. The reverse onus, the process, the free route, and when a lawyer pays for itself.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal
Whistleblower protection: what to do about reprisal, and whether you need a lawyerPunished for speaking up: the 21-day deadline if you were dismissed, the general protections and corporate whistleblower routes, and when to get a lawyer.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal
Right to disconnect dispute: how it reaches the Commission, and whether you need a lawyerRight to disconnect: law since 26 August 2024 (small business 26 August 2025). How a dispute reaches the Commission, the free route, and when a lawyer helps.
Time limit: No fixed application deadline; disputes can go to the Commission
Casual conversion refused: your options, the dispute route and whether you need a lawyerCasuals can give notice after 6 months (12 at a small business); the employer must reply in writing within 21 days. What to do when the answer is no.
Time limit: After 6 months of employment; 12 months if the employer is a small business
Underpayment claim: how far back, which route, and whether you need a lawyerRecover up to 6 years of underpaid wages. Small claims handles up to $100,000 without lawyers. When the Ombudsman is enough and when a lawyer pays.
Time limit: 6 years back from the date the claim is made
Unpaid super: the ATO route, the Fair Work route, and when a lawyer helpsEmployer not paying super? The ATO enforces the super guarantee for free. Super in a contract or agreement can open a Fair Work route. When each applies.
Time limit: 21 days to lodge a general protections application
Sham contracting: were you really an employee, and what can you claimAn ABN does not make you a contractor. Since 27 February 2024 an employer must show it reasonably believed the arrangement was genuine. What you can recover.
Time limit: 6 years back from the date of the claim
If you're an employer
Responding to a claim, running an investigation, dismissing fairly and fixing an underpayment before it becomes a prosecution.
The Commission asks for your response within 7 days (Form F3). What to check first, what conciliation costs, the $95,050 cap, and when a lawyer pays for itself.
Time limit: Within 7 days of being told about the claim
You have received a general protections claim: the reverse onus, and what to do firstThe employer must prove the protected reason was not why it acted, and there is no compensation cap. What the response needs and when to get advice.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal
Workplace investigations: how to run one that holds up, and when to bring in a lawyerA flawed investigation is the most common reason a dismissal fails. Allegations in writing, a chance to respond, a support person, an uninvolved decision-maker.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal for unfair dismissal or general protections
Show cause letters and dismissal: running a process the Commission will acceptWarnings, a show cause letter, a real chance to respond, then a proportionate decision. What the Commission checks, the small business Code, when advice pays.
Time limit: 21 days for unfair dismissal or general protections
Making a role redundant: the three legal tests, and where employers get it wrongA redundancy defeats an unfair dismissal claim only if the job truly went, consultation was done and redeployment was considered. The employer checklist.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal taking effect
Found an underpayment: fixing it, self-disclosure, and the criminal wage theft lineIntentional underpayment has been a crime since 1 January 2025. Honest mistakes are not, but 6 years of back pay is owed either way. How to fix it.
Time limit: 6 years back from the date a claim is made
An employee has complained of bullying or harassment: what to do, and when to get adviceAct promptly, protect the complainant, investigate fairly, and respond to any Commission application (Form F73). The safety duty applies. When a lawyer pays.
Time limit: By the date the Commission sets; the Commission must start dealing with the application within 14 days
An employee is threatening legal action: the first steps, and when to call a lawyerDo not retaliate, preserve the file, work out which claim is realistic and what it is worth. The 21-day windows cut both ways. When a lawyer pays for itself.
Time limit: 21 days from the dismissal for unfair dismissal or general protections
Contracts and agreements
Employment contracts, restraints, training bonds, deeds of release and confidentiality terms — before you sign or act on them.
Restraints, probation, notice, deductions, IP and hours clauses decide what you can do later. What to check yourself, and when a paid review is worth it.
Non-compete and restraint of trade clauses: enforceable or not, and who to askA restraint only holds if it goes no further than needed to protect a real business interest. The proposed 2027 ban is not law yet. When to get advice.
Deed of release: what you sign away, and whether a lawyer should read it firstA deed of release ends your right to claim in exchange for a payment. Once signed, it is very hard to undo. What to check, and when a review pays for itself.
Time limit: The 21-day dismissal deadlines keep running; signing does not pause them, and lodging does not breach a deed you have not signed
Training bond repayment: when a clawback is enforceable, and when it is notEmployers can only recover training costs actually paid, under a clear agreement, and cannot just deduct them from final pay. What holds and what does not.
Time limit: 6 years back from the date of the claim
Workplace NDAs and confidentiality clauses: what they cover, and when to get adviceConfidentiality clauses protect business information. They cannot stop you reporting to a regulator, getting advice or giving evidence. What to check first.
About the partnership: Liquid Employment Lawyers on FairWork Mate
General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.