Unemployment due to a voluntary act or misconduct 001-10060000

Reason for separation - what to assess before generating a compliance action

Table 1: This table contains details about when an unemployment failure or Unemployment Non-Payment Period (UNPP) should be generated based on the reason for stopping employment.

Reason for stopping employment	Does a compliance action require generation?
Employment contract ends	No
Improper behaviour or practices (for example, theft, assault or harassment of other employees/customers)	Yes
No reason recorded	Yes - further information is required from the employer and job seeker
Actions that cause serious risk to the health and safety of other employees or customers	Yes
Job seeker loses their drivers licence (for example, because of speeding and they need their licence for their job as a courier driver)	Yes - further information is required from the employer and job seeker
Unsatisfactory work performance (for example, including deliberate failure to produce or deliver a reasonable amount of work)	Yes - further information is required from the employer and job seeker
Other where free text or additional information does not already exist, or where the additional information indicates the cessation of employment is because of a medical condition	Maybe - further information is required from the employer and job seeker
Unauthorised absences from work	Yes - further information is required from the employer and job seeker
No further work is offered (for example, factory closure, voluntary redundancy is accepted)	No
Deliberate misuse of work related equipment or facilities, such as vehicles, internet, or IT hardware	Yes - further information is required from the employer and job seeker
Being 6 weeks of the date of confinement with no access to Maternity Leave	No
Work is unsuitable for the job seeker	No
Actions that threaten the reputation, viability, or profitability of the employer/business	Yes

Common scenarios - Voluntary unemployment

Table 2: This table contains questions to ask job seekers and employers and forms of evidence that may be gathered based on the job seeker's reason for leaving employment.

Item	Description
1	Reason for leaving: Wages This may include reasons such as being paid below the award rate, not receiving an expected bonus or pay increase. The expectation is that job seeker is paid wages according to Australian Standards. Considerations Does the evidence support that the job seeker was paid below the award wage? Is it reasonable to expect the job seeker to have discussed this with the employer before leaving? Questions for job seekers What were you paid? Do you have proof (payslips/bank statements)? Did you discuss with the employer? Questions for employer Were you aware this is reason they left? What rate were they paid? Under what award? Independent verification Fair Work Commission
2	Reason for leaving: Working conditions This may include reason such as unpaid superannuation, workplace health and safety conditions, hours of work, start and finish times. Considerations Industry standards and minimum work conditions for the employment position. For example, week-on/week-off rostering or shift work If they are subcontractor, there are certain conditions that the 'employer' may not be legally required to meet, for example, superannuation Questions for job seekers Did you discuss this with the employer? Did you approach relevant departments? Do you have any evidence? What were you told when starting employment? Questions for employer Were you aware this is reason they left? Were they told of conditions upon starting employment? What were the conditions? Independent verification Fair Work Commission State work cover authority Australian Taxation Office
3	Reason for leaving: Bullying and harassment This may include workplace conflict and incidents that occurred outside work hours. Considerations Make sure that the job seeker gives permission to discuss situation with employer. If not, make a decision based on the available evidence Questions for job seekers What was the size of the company? Did you discuss this with the employer? What attempts did you make to resolve the situation? Did you take the matter further? For example, Human Resources team, management Questions for employer Were you aware this is reason they left? What steps were taken to resolve the issue?
4	Reason for leaving: Ill Health/Medical conditions This may involve an exacerbation of existing condition or a new condition, permanent or temporary condition. Considerations Medical evidence would need to indicate that their condition impacted on their ability to do the job Medical evidence is required if considering not applying compliance action based on a medical condition Questions for job seekers Did you disclose this with your employer upon starting? How did it impact on your ability to do the job? Were there other options available? For example, leave, modification in the workplace Do you have any evidence? Is it a temporary condition or more permanent? Questions for employer Were you aware of medical condition upon starting employment? If aware of conditions, were there other options available? Independent verification Previous medical, medical certificates, Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) Letters from doctors and specialists
5	Reason for leaving: Travel/Relocation This may include excessive travel time, employer moving premises or employee moving residences. Considerations Relocation is not a valid reason for excessive travelling Questions for job seekers What other options were available? How long did you have travel for? Why was travel now an issue? Did you recently move and why? Questions for employer Were you aware of the job seeker's travel issues? If you were aware of travel concerns, were there other options? Independent verification Online maps Trip planner
6	Reason for leaving: Caring responsibilities/Family commitments This may include leaving work to look after an ill or elderly relative, work hours conflict with family responsibilities. Considerations Is the job seeker on the correct payment? If they are a principal carer, are they required to work outside of school hours? Caring for others is generally not considered a reasonable excuse, unless they are receiving a carer payment/allowance Questions for job seekers How long have you had caring responsibilities? What level of care do you provide? How long do you expect this to last? Was there anyone else available to care for them? Questions for employer What leave entitlements did the job seeker have? Did you have flexible working arrangements? Independent verification Letters from doctors/hospitals
7	Reason for leaving: Another job to go to This may include the new job start date was delayed/did not start or the job seeker wanted a break before starting a new job. Considerations When did the job seeker expect to start? Did they have a confirmed job offer before leaving previous job? Had they signed an employment contract? Did the job seeker leave before starting the job and why? Questions for job seekers Can you provide evidence of job offer? Why did the employment fall through? Are you able to get your old job back? When did you expect to start the job? Questions for employer Were you aware this was the reason they were leaving? Is there a position still available? Independent verification Contact new/proposed employer to confirm job offer/reason for delay or offer withdrawn

Common scenarios - Unemployment due to misconduct

Table 3: This table has questions to ask job seekers and employers and forms of evidence that may be gathered based on the job seeker's reason for dismissal.

Item	Description
1	Determining misconduct A person can only be considered unemployed due to misconduct because of their misconduct as an employee. As well as misconduct that occurred in the workplace, misconduct can also occur at work-related functions or when using facilities or information that are only available due to a person's employment.
2	Reason for dismissal: Breach of Company Policy This includes any breaches of company policies such as privacy issues, health and safety regulations, and inappropriate use of company resources. Considerations Caution should be exercised about excusing breaches of company policy due to job seeker ignorance of the policy. If the breach is significant, for example, there was a clear and present danger to surrounding employees and a reasonable person would expect to be dismissed because of the incident, then an investigation should, in most cases, continue. Questions for job seekers What happened? Were you aware of company policy? Were you warned? What was the breach of policy? Questions for employer What happened? Was the job seeker advised of company policy? Were they warned? Independent verification Copies of formal warnings issued
3	Reason for dismissal: Theft This may include theft from the company, fellow employees or customers/clients. Considerations Misconduct may still occur if the employer elected not to report the theft to police, or the job seeker was not charged with an offence Questions for job seekers What happened? Questions for employer What happened? Was it reported to police and were they charged? Do you have any evidence? Independent verification Copy of formal charge papers or other evidence of video surveillance (if any)
4	Reason for dismissal: Bullying or harassment This may include workplace conflict, incidents that occurred outside work hours and social media interaction. Considerations Misconduct may still occur if the employer elected not to report the harassment to police, or the job seeker was not charged with an offence Questions for job seekers What happened? Questions for the employer What happened? Was it reported to police and were they charged? Is there any evidence? For example, social media, emails, or phone records
5	Reason for dismissal: Ill health/medical condition This may include abandoning work due to temporary illness/medical condition, or refusing to provide medical evidence to support non-attendance Considerations Does the job seeker have a medical condition that impacted their ability to attend or retain their employment noted on their record? Questions for job seekers Was your employer made aware of your medical condition? Did you obtain, or would you be able to obtain and supply, medical evidence to support your statement? Did you have access to leave entitlements and were they fully exhausted? If yes, how long before stopping employment did you exhaust your leave balance? Questions for employer Did the job seeker maintain contact with you about their absence due to ill health? Were there alternate duties that they may have been able to access that would have been suitable for interim support whilst suffering or recovering from ill health?
6	Reason for dismissal: Absences/tardiness This may include not returning to work as expected or constant lateness at the start of shifts or from breaks. Considerations Does the job seeker have a medical condition which impacted on their ability to attend in a timely manner? When assessing the severity of the tardiness, consideration should be given to how late the job seeker was and the importance to the business that the job seeker was present on time. That is, did it affect the ability to open premises or undertake the business? Questions for job seekers How late were you for work? How often were you late for work? Why were you late or absent? Do you have any evidence? Did you let your employer know you were going to be late or absent? Did you offer to make up time? Questions for employer Did the employee notify their absence/lateness? What reasons were given? If they were late, how late were they? Were they warned and do you have any evidence? How frequent were the absences? Everyday occurrence or did a pattern emerge Independent verification Copies of warnings issued (if any)
7	Job seeker is appealing their dismissal to an external body Job seekers may appeal an employer's decision to dismiss them due to misconduct to an external body such as Fair Work Commission. Investigation and determination of compliance action is not affected or influenced by a pending or ongoing external appeal about the dismissal. Any investigation and determination should proceed based on available evidence. If any facts of the termination are subsequently altered by the external body (the job seeker is reinstated without break of employment), the job seeker may apply for a formal review of the failure decision.

Common scenarios - Date of event

Table 4: This table contains examples to record the correct Date of event when generating a failure related to unemployment.

Item	Description
1	Employment Separation Certificate Date employment stopped is 11 March 2022. Date of unemployment is 12 March 2022. Event date of this compliance action is 12 March 2022.
2	Contract of employment Contract of employment stopped 10 April 2022. Date of unemployment is 11 April 2022. Event date of this compliance action is 11 April 2022.
3	Date last paid by their previous employer Date last worked is 23 February 2022. Paid sick leave up to 16 March 2022. Date of unemployment is 17 March 2022. Event date of this compliance action is 17 March 2022.

Intranet links

Participation Compliance Entry Hub - for resources to support you in managing Participation Compliance when interacting with job seekers who are subject to the Targeted Compliance Framework. For example, the PD: Generate Compliance Action New Claim VOD demonstrates how to generate a job seeker unemployment compliance action at new claim stage.

Process Direct Support - for current issues, resources and help and navigation using Process Direct.

External websites

Fair Work Commission

Google Maps

Contact details

Participation Solutions team (PST)

Operational Information