Termination of employment

About termination of employment

Your employment is terminated when your employment contract with your employer is ended.

Your employment can be terminated for a few reasons, including where you:

• resign (leave your job)
• are made redundant, or
• are dismissed (fired).

If your employment is terminated, you will no longer accrue any entitlements. 

Resigning from your job

If you want to leave your job, you need to tell your employer you are resigning. You can do this verbally or in writing. It is best practice to do this writing.

You may be need to give your employer notice that you are leaving your job. You will need to continue to work during the notice period, unless your employer decides otherwise.

For more information, see Resigning from your job.

Redundancy

An employee's job is made redundant when their employer no longer needs a role to be performed. An employee may be made redundant because:

• their job has been replaced by new technology
• business slows down
• the business moves
• a merger or takeover happens
• the business restructures or reorganises
• the employer stops trading because they became bankrupt or went into liquidation.

If you are made redundant, you may be entitled to redundancy pay.

For more information, see Redundancy pay.

Dismissed by your employer

Dismissal is when your employer ends your employment. It is also known as termination.

It can include situations where your employment is ended because of serious misconduct, or you are forced to resign.

If your employer dismisses you, they must give you notice unless you were dismissed because of serious misconduct. Your employer must give you the minimum amount of notice of your dismissal.

Instead of giving you the required period of notice, your employer may pay you an amount equal to your wages for the period of notice you are entitled to and ask you to leave straight away. This is called a payment in lieu of notice.

For more information, see Dismissed by your employer.

Final pay

Your final pay is the payment of your:

• wages or salary
• any leave accrued, such as annual leave or long service leave
• any leave loading that you are entitled to
• any redundancy pay that you are entitled to.

It can also include:

• payment in lieu of notice
• redundancy pay.

It won’t include any sick leave or carer’s leave you have accrued.

Your award, contract or agreement may say when you should be paid your termination pay. Most awards say that your employer must pay you within seven days of your employment ending. If there is nothing in your award, contract or agreement, it would be best practice for an employer to pay you on your last day of work or at the end of the next pay period.

Your employer will deduct tax from your final pay.

For more information about tax and superannuation payments after you are dismissed, see Leaving your job on the Australian Taxation Office website.

Deductions

If you took leave in advance, and you won’t work enough to earn the amount of leave that you took your employer can deduct the amount still owing from your final pay. 

If you don’t give your employer enough notice of your resignation, they may be able to deduct your pay. Your employer can’t deduct your pay if they have agreed to a shorter notice period that what is required in your award, enterprise agreement or contract.

For more information, see Resigning from your job.

Unpaid wages and entitlements

If you have not been paid your final pay, you should first speak with your employer. If your employer refuses to pay you, you can make a complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate and may be able to help you recover the money you are owed. 

If your employer underpaid you on purpose, the Fair Work Ombudsman may also refer your employer for prosecution. Intentionally underpaying an employee is a criminal offence. If convicted, your employer could be fined, sent to prison, or both.

For more information, see Final pay on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

If you can’t recover your final pay with the help of the Fair Work Ombudsman, you may be able to make a claim for unpaid wages and entitlements. You must do this within six years of when the pay is owed to you.

For more information, see What if my entitlements are not paid?

Returning your employers property

If you are leaving your job, you will have to organise returning any property that they own, unless you have an agreement to keep it. This may include things like a company laptop, phone and car. There may be a clause in your employment contract that permits you to keep certain property after your termination. Otherwise, you may be able to negotiate an agreement with your employer.

You don’t have to return any property that you own, for example, a desk that you bought to work from home.

If you don’t return your employer’s property, they may start legal action to recover it.

Your employer can’t withhold your final pay if you don’t return their property.

Responding to your termination

If you have been dismissed, your dismissal may have been unfair, or in breach of a general protection. If that has happened, you may be able to make a claim for either unfair dismissal or general protections dismissal. You cannot make both claims.

You may even have other options such as a:

• discrimination claim (if you have been discriminated against at work)
• bullying claim (if you are experiencing any workplace bullying).

You should get legal advice about your options.

If you have been dismissed and you haven't been paid all your wages or other entitlements, you can make a claim against them.

You can still make this claim if you have started an unfair dismissal or general protections dismissal claim. You can also make a claim for unpaid wages if you have resigned or are still working for the employer.

For information on the differences between an unfair dismissal claim, a general protections dismissal claim and a claim for unpaid wages and entitlements, see How do I choose?

Unfair dismissal

Unfair dismissal is when your dismissal was harsh, unfair, or unreasonable. If you worked at a place with less than 15 employees, your employer must also follow the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.

In some cases, if you have been unfairly dismissed, you can make an application to the Fair Work Commission.

For more information about unfair dismissal, see Unfair dismissal.

If your dismissal was a genuine redundancy it will not be considered an unfair dismissal. However, if you are made redundant, you may be entitled to a payout.

For more information, see Redundancy pay.

General protections dismissal

A general protections dismissal is when you were fired and your general protection rights were breached by your employer.

Your general protection rights are your rights as an employee. They include the right to:

• be paid correctly
• take time off work if you are sick
• not to be discriminated against
• join (or not join) a union.

If you have been illegally fired because your employer breached your general protection rights, you may be able to make an application to the Fair Work Commission.

For more information, see General protections dismissal.

If you were fired and your general protection rights were not breached, you may be able to make a claim of unlawful termination.  Any employee can make this claim except for state system employee, who are not covered by national employment laws.

For more information, see Unlawful termination on the Fair Work Commission website.

State system employees

Most employees are covered by the national laws relating to employment. If you work for a government agency, a local council or a NSW government-owned corporation, you may be what is called a state system employee. Your employment is covered by different rules.

If you are a state system employee and have been dismissed by your employer, you may be able to make a claim.

For more information, see:

• Unfair dismissals on the Industrial Relations Commission website
• Unlawful termination on the Fair Work Commission website.

Employment separation certificate

If you want to apply for Centrelink benefits, you may need to show an employment separation certificate. Your employer must complete a certificate within 14 days after you request them to.

They can do this:

• by completing a form and giving it to you to submit
• submitting it online directly.

For more information, see Employment Separation Certificate form (SU001) on the Services Australia website.

If your employer refuses to give you a certificate, you should discuss this with Centrelink directly.

Your award or agreement may also require your employer to provide you with a statement of service or something similar. It often says the type of work that you were doing and how long you worked there.

References

If you are leaving your job, you may want to speak to your manager, boss, or co-worker to give you a reference. You should ask them for a reference before you apply for a new job and give out their details.

Your employer doesn’t have  to provide you with a reference.

You should think carefully about who you choose as a referee because they will be asked to give an honest opinion about you and your work performance. This means that they don’t have to give you a good reference. If you have chosen a referee that you believe has not given you a good reference, you may want to choose someone else.

An unreasonably bad or unfair reference could be negligent or defamatory, however these are complex areas of law. If your referee is saying things to others that are untrue, or are affecting your reputation, you may need to get legal advice.

Last updated: January 2026