Introduction
When you receive a claim for general protections, you may want to challenge the application. To do this, you need to tell us why you object to the claim.
Content
Common reasons you may object
You may object if you believe the employee is not eligible to claim general protections. This is sometimes called a ‘jurisdictional objection’. You can only object for specific legal reasons about our powers to resolve the dispute. For example, if:
- the employee is not protected by law
- the employee applied more than 21 days after the dismissal took effect
The employee may also not be eligible if you did not dismiss them. This could be because:
- they are still employed
- they resigned from their position
- their fixed-term contract expired
- they were a contractor, not an employee.
How to object
If you are the employer named in the application, we will ask you to complete the Form F8A - response to general protections application. Include your objection in this response form.
After you object
We will contact you about your objection. The next step will be a conference or a hearing. When you have a jurisdictional objection, the case will be referred to a Commission Member. The Commission Member will decide the objection.
Attending a hearing
A Commission Member may schedule a jurisdictional hearing to decide your objection. If the Member dismisses your objection, the case continues to a conference.
Attending a conference
At a conference both sides will be able to tell their side. We will work with you to resolve the dispute.