Comparative study of illegal dismissals in the labour regulations of Iran and Australia

In all countries’ labour laws, dismissal has been discussed as a topic that related to job security, human dignity and income of labours. Considering significant effect of dismissal on individual and social life of workers, methods of legislation are important to protect the working class. In Iranian literatures of labour law, there is no comprehensive and detailed study reviewing unjustified dismissal. In this study, unfair dismissal’s patterns, formalities, performance guarantees in Australian regulations were studied and compared with Iranian regulations. As Australia is a developed country with well-balanced economy and often has top ratings on lists of ILO, it was selected for this study. In this article by reviewing the relevant laws and documents in a documentary research, descriptive analytical and comparative methods were used. Two applicable labour acts in Iranian and Australian law are labour act 1990 and fair work act 2009.in comparative study of dismissal between two countries’ legal systems, similarities and differences have been observed. In Iranian regulation, illegal dismissal is called unjustified dismissal and in Australian’s is called unfair dismissal. In Iran the principle is that dismissal is unjustified while in Australia there is no principle. In Iran, giving written warnings in case of worker’s negligence and obtaining permission from labours authorities are necessary.in addition, employers must have a justified excuse like inevitable accident or definitive conviction. The legislature of Australia has determined significant unlawful dismissals and provided three criteria to recognize type of dismissals. In Australia there is emphasis on providing in advanced and written notice prior to dismissal. However, this is not a requirement in Iran. Dispute resolution authorities are provided in case of inevitability of disputes in labour relations. In both countries, proceedings are inexpensive, informal and easily available. Dispute settlement bodies hear individual and collective disputes. One of the strengths of Iranian labour law is that immediate dismissal is not allowed however, in Australia, in certain circumstances employer can dismissed the labour immediately without protective formalities of the dismissal. On the other hand, the international labour organization has provided drafts and presented factors in its approvals regarding dismissal. Comparing two countries’ laws, value of regulations depends on the degree of their compatibility with the International Labour Organization’s criteria. These criteria are observed to some degree by both countries. in conclusion, this comparative study indicates that the legislators of both countries can emulate each other's legal systems and improve their regulations to fully comply with ILO`s criteria.