Are you aware of what a Qualifying Period is? In this blog post, we'll explore what a Qualifying Period means and how it impacts employers and employees alike. We'll discuss the minimum employment period, who it applies to, and what it entails. Additionally, we'll delve into the importance of the Qualifying Period and how it serves as an evaluation period for both employers and employees.

So what is a Qualifying Period?

Essentially the Qualifying Period is the Fair Work terminology for what used to be known as a Probation Period.

Under section 383 of the Fair Work Act 2009 it details what the "minimum employment period" is also known as qualifying period. If the employer has less than 15 employees, the qualifying period is 12 months. If the employer has 15 or more employees, the qualifying period is 6 months. What this means is that a new employee must meet the "minimum employment period" or successfully complete the qualifying period, before they are entitled to full rights to make an unfair dismissal application if their employment is terminated. If you wish to terminate an employee during their qualifying period, then you would need to give them notice in accordance with the Award, National Employment Standard or Letter of Engagement (whichever is greater). If the employee wished to resign during the qualifying period, then they would need to give appropriate notice in accordance with the Award or National Employment Standard.

However, the qualifying period is not a get-out-of-jail-free card from employers to dismiss an employee without reason. If a dismissed employee has not completed their "minimum employment period" or qualifying period before being terminated they may not be eligible to apply for an unfair dismissal claim however, they are not prevented from bringing an "adverse action" claim against an employer under section 340 of the Act.

The qualifying period does not apply to casual employees due to the definition and nature of casual employment being no advance firm commitment. The exception to this is if a casual employee works a regular and systematic basis, and the employee had a reasonable expectation of continuing employment by the employer on regular and systematic basis (section 384).

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