Am I entitled to be paid out my owed time in lieu upon being made redundant?

Being made redundant can be an incredibly stressful time for any employee.  With all the upheaval, it can be unclear what rights you have available to you as an employee. While the process of seeing through a redundancy can be quite complex, it is important to understand what you are entitled to in order to ensure you receive what you are duly owed.

As a preliminary step, be sure that the redundancy of your position is genuine and legitimate (see here for more information). If not, it may be possible to lodge an unfair dismissal claim against your employer. If the redundancy is genuine, however, ensure that your employer complies with the necessary notice requirements. [i]

Assuming your employer has adhered to all his or her responsibilities up until this point, the next step will be to determine that you are receiving the full package of your redundancy payout. Typically, employees are entitled to receive the following upon being made redundant:

• Outstanding wages;
• Payment for unused annual and long service leave; and
• Any severance or redundancy pay entitlements [ii]

Regarding time off in lieu (TOIL), this is usually offered to employees by their employer during their employment as an alternative to payment for overtime.

In the event that an employee is made redundant before having claimed their TOIL, the employer is required to pay out the time owing at the overtime rate, just as they would if you were instead owed annual leave. This responsibility is governed by your workplace Award according to your industry of employment.

If you believe that your employer has failed to fulfil his or her obligations in relation to your redundancy payout, it is a good idea to contact a lawyer to help you vindicate your rights and collect what is rightfully owed to you.

[i] See Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) sections 119, 139, 388, 389

[ii] http://www.moneyhelp.org.au/losing-your-job/redundancy-payment/