Can you get your job back?
You want to go back to work, not just be paid to leave.
Getting your job back is what the law asks for first. Money comes in only if reinstatement is not ordered.
What does reinstatement mean?
Reinstatement means the Industrial Court orders your employer to give you your job back, on the same terms as before. It is the remedy a Section 20 representation is built to seek.1
Back wages, the pay you lost while the case ran, can be ordered alongside it. Compensation replaces your job only if reinstatement is not ordered.1
Why does the law ask for your job back first?
The claim starts with a written request to be reinstated, not a demand for money, because your job is what was taken away.2
You have 60 days from your dismissal to lodge that request with the Director General of Industrial Relations.2 You can work out your exact deadline once you know the date.
When does the Industrial Court actually order it?
The Court looks at whether trust between you and your employer can be rebuilt. A short dispute over one incident is a different case from months of conflict, or a role that no longer exists.
Each case turns on its own facts.
What happens if reinstatement is not realistic?
Where the Court decides reinstatement is not workable, it can order compensation instead. Back wages alongside that award are capped at 24 months of last-drawn salary for a confirmed employee, or 12 months for a probationer.3
That outcome does not mean your claim was weak. Trust can break down for reasons that have little to do with who was in the right.
How does the 60-day deadline connect to this?
The deadline decides whether you can ask for reinstatement at all. Missing it can close the door on the claim, so read the 60-day deadline page next.
The whole route, from filing to the Industrial Court, is in the legal process guide.
What should you do this week?
Decide, even loosely, whether going back to that workplace is something you would want. It shapes how a lawyer frames your claim from the start.
Then gather your letter, contract and payslips. If you want a lawyer to pursue reinstatement for you, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send them directly to that lawyer before the 60 days run out.
If you want your job back, say so early, since it shapes how a claim is built. An independent employment lawyer can review what happened and act for you if reinstatement is a realistic aim.
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
Is reinstatement the only remedy the law offers?
No. Reinstatement is what the claim primarily asks for, but the Industrial Court can order compensation and back wages instead, especially once trust has broken down. Both routes come from the same Section 20 representation, so you do not choose between them at the start.
Does the Industrial Court actually order reinstatement?
It can. Reinstatement is what the claim asks for, but the Court may award compensation instead once it weighs whether the working relationship can genuinely continue. Compensation is not a sign that a claim was weak.
What if I do not want my old job back?
You can still bring the claim. Tell your lawyer early that reinstatement is not what you want, since it can shape how the case and any settlement talks are framed from the start.
Can my employer simply refuse to take me back?
An employer cannot ignore a reinstatement order once the Industrial Court makes one. In practice, though, the Court may award compensation instead where the working relationship has broken down.
Does asking for reinstatement slow my case down?
No. It is the standard first request in every Section 20 representation, not an optional extra step. What affects timing is mainly whether conciliation settles the matter or it proceeds to the Industrial Court.
Sources
- The primary remedy an unfair dismissal claim seeks is reinstatement to the employee's former job; back wages or compensation follow only if reinstatement is ordered, or awarded in lieu of it. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations, asking to be reinstated, within 60 days of the dismissal (Section 20, Industrial Relations Act 1967). Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- Back wages ordered by the Industrial Court are capped at 24 months of last-drawn salary for a confirmed employee, and 12 months for a probationer (Second Schedule, Industrial Relations Act 1967). Donovan & Ho, Back Wages at the Industrial Court
Keep reading
If you want your job back, say so early, since it shapes how a claim is built. An independent employment lawyer can review what happened and act for you if reinstatement is a realistic aim.
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.