How Quickly Can You Get Help?
Your deadline is running and you want to know how fast help can start.
The clock that matters is not the lawyer’s diary. It is your 60-day filing window.
How quickly can you get help?
How fast a lawyer replies depends on the lawyer, so ask when you message. Reach out early either way, because it keeps more of your 60-day window available.1
Getting help quickly does not mean rushing a decision. It means you understand your options while they are all still open.
How long does the wider process take?
Once a lawyer is involved, timing depends on the stage your case reaches. Conciliation is one or two sessions arranged by the department.2
A hearing, if needed, follows its own schedule. No honest source can name a length for the whole process, because it depends on your facts and the court’s caseload.
Why does timing matter early?
Some people delay because they assume the lawyer’s schedule is the problem. The bigger risk is the 60-day window closing while you decide whether to call anyone.
Sending your facts early gives a lawyer the most room to plan around the deadline.
What should you do now?
Check your deadline on the 60-day deadline calculator while you decide when to reach out. The employment lawyer page explains what a lawyer does at each stage.
For later stages, read how long filing a claim takes and how long an Industrial Court case takes.
If you want a lawyer to act for you, send your dismissal date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer can review the facts and reply about whether and how they can act.
If you want to move inside the 60-day limit, send your dismissal date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
How quickly can I speak to a lawyer?
That depends on the lawyer, so ask when you message. Reaching out early keeps more of your 60-day window open whatever the reply time.
Does getting help early change the outcome?
It can. What you sign or say in the first days can matter more than what happens later.
How long does the wider claim take once a lawyer is involved?
It depends on the stage your case reaches, from conciliation to a possible hearing, and the length differs from case to case.
Is it too late if some time has passed?
Only once the 60-day window has closed. Before that, a conversation is still worth having, even if less time remains.
Sources
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of the dismissal Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- After a representation is lodged, the Industrial Relations Department arranges conciliation, usually one or two sessions where an officer mediates Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If you want to move inside the 60-day limit, send your dismissal date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.