Dismissed after your company was sold?
New owners took over, and your job was gone in the handover.
The company changed hands, a new name appeared on the letterhead, and somewhere in the handover your job stopped existing.
A change of ownership does not automatically end your employment rights, even if it feels like a clean break. What happened to your contract during the transition matters.
Does a new owner have to keep the same staff?
Not necessarily. Fairness depends on how the transition was handled, whether you were offered a role with the new owner, and how your service history was treated.
A termination that lands conveniently at the point of sale, without proper process, deserves the same scrutiny as any other dismissal.
What happens to my length of service in a sale?
Depending on how the deal was structured, your continuous service may or may not carry over to the new owner. That affects notice and any termination entitlements tied to years of service.
Ask in writing whether your employment is treated as continuing or as a fresh start, because this changes what you are owed.
Who has to justify a termination during this kind of transition?
Your former employer, or the new owner depending on the deal, must still show just cause or excuse for ending your role.1
A termination used only to avoid passing obligations to a new owner, with no genuine business reason, can still be challenged.
How long do you have to act?
You have 60 days from your last day of employment to file a Section 20 representation.2 This is the written claim you lodge to say your dismissal was unfair, and it goes to the Director General of Industrial Relations.
If it succeeds, remedies can include reinstatement, meaning getting your job back. Back wages, the salary you lost while out of work, are capped at twenty four months for a confirmed employee and twelve months for a probationer.3
What should you do this week?
Gather your original contract, any sale or transition announcement, and correspondence about any role offered under the new owner. Compare your final payment with your length of service and notice entitlement.
If the business stopped entirely instead of changing hands, read about a full company closure. Then use the deadline calculator to track your window.
If you want a lawyer to act on your termination, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send the sale announcement and your contract directly to that lawyer. They can review whether it is a case they can act on.
If your job ended when the company changed hands, an independent employment lawyer can review the sale announcement and your contract and handle the claim if you have grounds.
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
Does a business sale automatically end my employment?
Not automatically. Depending on how the sale was structured, your employment may transfer to the new owner or genuinely end. The deal's details affect what you are owed either way.
What if the new owner offered me a role on worse terms?
A big downgrade in terms offered during a transition can itself raise fairness questions, like a demotion or pay cut. Compare the new terms with your original contract.
Should I sign anything the new owner sends me quickly?
Take time to read any new contract or settlement document before signing, because it can affect your continuity of service and other rights.
Does my old employer or the new owner owe me the final payment?
It depends on how the sale agreement shared responsibility for existing staff obligations. If you are unsure who is responsible, ask both parties to confirm in writing.
Sources
- In an unfair dismissal case the burden of proof rests on the employer to show just cause or excuse for what happened. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- An employee who believes they were dismissed without just cause may file a Section 20 representation within 60 days of the dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- Back wages awarded by the Industrial Court are capped at twenty four months for a confirmed employee and twelve months for a probationer. DNH
Keep reading
If your job ended when the company changed hands, an independent employment lawyer can review the sale announcement and your contract and handle the claim if you have grounds.
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.