Unfair dismissal is the main reason employees make a formal claim against their employers, and of these claims, nearly a quarter centre around serious misconduct (12%) or misconduct (12%).

The figures were released by Employsure, Australia’s leading employment relations specialist, and were taken from 990 inbound calls to Employsure, from employers, between February 2014 and May 2015. They reveal that over a third of calls were from employers contacting Employsure for the first time, to seek advice on unfair dismissal.

Managing director of Employsure Edward Mallet says, “Disputes between employers and their staff occur when an employee’s conduct is called into question, but they feel wrongly accused. This is a difficult situation, and usually the employer has no official guidelines on conduct in place. They then call a service like ours to explore their rights and obligations.”

In 2014, 17,806 unfair dismissal claims were lodged by employees with the Fair Work Commission, the highest number of annual claims ever recorded. The figure amounts to 70 claims a day.

“There is no doubt this is a major issue for employers,” Mr Mallett says. “Unfair dismissal was brought about to protect employees from unjust employers, however the number of claims has blown out. The actual figure is considerably higher as not all claims are taken to the Commission, some are settled internally by the company concerned. Because it is such a prevalent issue, employers need to ensure they have robust policies in place to be clear and equitable in these matters.”

Mr Mallett says, “Around two thirds of the companies that contact Employsure in the first instance have employment compliance issues or are involved in a workplace incident and need expert advice and assistance. Around one in five companies in the general business population have workplace issues that result in formal claims being made. If you are a client of Employsure, this drops to one in 150.”

* Taken from 990 claims from February 2014 to May 2015.

Edward Mallett’s Top Five Tips to Avoid Employee Disputes

1 Have clear descriptions of unacceptable behaviour – Employers need to train staff on good conduct and include clear descriptions of unacceptable behaviour in employee handbooks. This can cover every aspect of employee functions from absenteeism, sick leave, performance and, most importantly, conduct.

2 Don’t keep policies in a drawer – When you have gone to the time and trouble to craft workplace policies, make sure your staff know about them. Consider introducing a written or computer test and set the pass mark high to make sure employees have read and understood policies.

3 Consistency is key – Ensure all disputes are dealt with consistently. Adhere to your own policies and procedures to the letter, in every case. Don’t make allowances for some staff members or come down hard on other employees. Consistently addressing conduct issues will help your employees to perceive what is appropriate workplace behaviour and what is not.

4 Have meetings before the situation gets out of hand – If an employee is stepping out of your defined code of conduct, you are within your rights to schedule a disciplinary meeting to clearly outline the employee’s unacceptable behaviour. Following this meeting, you may be justified in issuing a formal, written warning. If the misconduct is repeated or it constitutes serious misconduct, this could ultimately justify dismissal.

5 Get the best advice – Employers often don’t know how to manage employees effectively and deal with claims by their employees. Get expert advice to develop solid employee contracts, workplace policies and performance management programs to put you in the best position possible. Use your adviser to gain knowledge of your rights and obligations as an employer.