Remedies for Unjustifiable Dismissal under the Labour Relations Act 1987

Abstract

This research note presents the results of a survey of remedies awarded in unjustifiable dismissal cases decisioned in the petiod 1987 to 1991 under the jurisdiction of the Labour Relations Act 1987 (LRA). The results of the survey were found to suggest that while the procedure in principle offered the possibility of adequate recompense for an unjustifiable dismissal, in practical terms it generally failed to deliver adequate means for their recovery. This conclusion suppotted the somewhat critical position adopted by Anderson (1988) in his discussion of the perfmnaance of the Labour Court and the mmedies awarded for unjustifiable dismissals. The note will briefly present the remedies available under the LRA and the criticisms expressed by Anderson (1988) before presenting the survey results.