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End an employee's employment lawfully

We will help you end the employment cleanly, on terms that hold up if anyone tests them later.

There are two questions in every dismissal and they are not the same question. Is there a good reason? And can you show the employee was treated fairly on the way to it? Employers who lose these matters almost always had the first and not the second. We advise on the reason, the process and the paperwork, in that order, before the conversation happens rather than after it.

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A reason that survives scrutiny

The ground for dismissal is tested before you rely on it, not after a claim is filed.

A process that was actually fair

The employee is told and heard before the decision, which is the step most claims turn on.

Nothing owed after the last day

Notice, final pay and post-employment obligations are dealt with, so the exit is final.

What makes a termination lawful?

A lawful termination needs three things to line up. There has to be a valid reason connected to the employee’s capacity or conduct, or to a genuine redundancy. The employee has to be told of that reason and given a chance to respond before the decision is made. The mechanics have to be right as well: correct notice, correct final pay, and accrued entitlements paid out.

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) sets the framework, and it protects most employees once they have served a minimum employment period. Small business employers have a shorter qualifying period and their own code to follow. Separately from all of that, some reasons are prohibited outright. A dismissal because of illness, a complaint, or a protected attribute is unlawful no matter how good the process was.

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Do I have to give a reason for terminating an employee?

For any employee who can bring an unfair dismissal claim, yes, and you have to give it before the decision rather than after. The employee has to know what is alleged and have a chance to respond. A reason produced later, once a claim has started, carries much less weight.

How much notice do I have to give?

The minimum comes from the Act and increases with length of service. An extra week applies for employees over 45 with more than two years of service. The contract or an applicable award may require more, and the higher figure applies. You can pay in lieu of notice instead.

Can I dismiss for serious misconduct without notice?

Yes, where the conduct genuinely justifies it, such as theft, fraud, violence or a serious safety breach. Summary dismissal still requires you to put the allegation to the employee and hear their answer first. Employers who skip that step usually lose, even where the conduct was real.

Should I offer a settlement instead?

Sometimes. A negotiated exit under a deed of release gives you certainty and ends the matter, which a lawful dismissal on its own does not. It costs money you may not owe. The decision is commercial, and it turns on how strong the reason is and what the uncertainty is worth to you.

The conversation is the last step, not the first

Tell us who you are thinking of dismissing and why. We will tell you whether the reason will hold, and what has to happen before you act on it.

A dismissal that feels justified is not the same as one that is defensible

You have decided the employment needs to end. What you have not worked out is whether the reason will survive scrutiny, or whether the employee can bring a claim. Nor what you owe them on the way out.

There is also the timing. Most employers want it over quickly, and speed is exactly what removes the steps that would have protected them.

We will assess whether the reason for dismissal will withstand a claim.
We will identify anything that could recast the dismissal as retaliation.
We will set the process, including what the employee must be given a chance to say.
We will prepare the termination letters and calculate notice and final pay.
We will prepare a deed of release where a negotiated exit is the better answer.

You have made the decision and now you have to do it

It might be conduct, or performance, or a role that no longer exists. Either way you have reached the point where the employment has to end, and you would like it done this week. You are not certain whether you need to give them a chance to respond, or how much notice is required. Nor whether they can take you to the Commission afterwards. The conversation is scheduled and you want to be sure before you have it.

What's included in your termination advice service

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Assessment of the ground for dismissal.
Risk review for general protections and discrimination exposure.
Show cause and termination letter preparation.
Meeting structure and script.
Notice, final pay and entitlement calculation.
Deed of release preparation where a negotiated exit suits.

What a rushed dismissal costs

Dismissals go wrong in a small number of predictable ways. The employee was never told the reason before the decision, so there was no chance to respond. The reason given at the meeting is different from the one relied on later. Notice was calculated on the wrong basis, or the final pay left out accrued leave or a payment in lieu.

Each of those is recoverable on its own. Together they turn a defensible dismissal into a settlement. The remedy is not only money either: the Commission can order reinstatement, which means an employee you dismissed comes back to work for you. Most employers would pay a good deal to avoid that, which is precisely why the employee’s lawyer raises it.

How we make the exit clean

We test the reason first. Whether it is conduct, capacity or redundancy changes what has to happen next. A reason that will not hold is better found now than at conciliation. We also check the obvious traps: recent complaints, a workers compensation claim, a period of illness, anything that could recast the dismissal as retaliation.

Then we set the process. Who is told what, in what order, and what the employee gets the chance to say before the decision. We draft the letters, calculate the notice and final pay, and deal with the post-employment terms that matter to you, including confidentiality and any restraint. Where a negotiated exit is the better commercial answer, we say so and prepare a deed of release instead. You end up with an employment that has properly ended, and a file that shows why.

How a termination gets done

The reason holds, the process is fair, and the exit is final.

Test the reason

We check whether the ground for dismissal will withstand a claim, and whether anything makes it look like retaliation.

Run the meeting

We set out who says what and when, so the employee has a genuine chance to respond before the decision.

Close it properly

We prepare the letters, confirm notice and final pay, and deal with confidentiality and restraint obligations.

Employer advice on the reason, the process and the paperwork

Very few employers enjoy this. Even where the decision is plainly right, dismissing someone affects the person doing it, and the instinct is to get it over with quickly. That instinct is the single most expensive one in employment law.

We act for employers on terminations, and on defending the claims that follow the ones done badly. That means we see both ends of the same decision. The steps that get tested afterwards are rarely the ones employers worry about beforehand. We will tell you plainly if the reason will not hold, because that is cheaper to hear now than at conciliation.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

End it cleanly the first time

Tell us who you are dismissing and why, and what has been said to them so far. We will tell you whether the reason holds, what the process has to include, and what you owe them on the way out.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590