Dismissed by your employer

About dismissal

Dismissal is when your employer ends your employment. It is also known as termination. If you have a permanent job, you can only be dismissed if:

• you are made redundant
• your employment is ended because of serious misconduct
• you abandon your job, and your employer ends your employment.

For more information, see Redundancy pay.

Dismissal doesn’t include situations where:

• you are demoted without a significant reduction in your duties or pay
• you were only employed for a specific period, a specific task, or a specific season
• you were only employed for the length of your training, such as an apprentice or trainee.

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

Valid reason for dismissal

Your employer must have a valid reason to dismiss you from your job. A valid reason may include:

• poor performance
• misconduct
• redundancy. 

Before your employer decides to dismiss you, they must give you a valid reason and the chance to respond. Your employer must give you  the valid reason clearly in  plain language. 

You may be able to make an unfair dismissal claim if your employer doesn’t give you a valid reason for your dismissal before you are dismissed, and the opportunity to respond. 

For more information, see Unfair dismissal.

Redundancy

Redundancy is when your employer:

• decides they no longer need anyone to do your job, or 
• becomes insolvent or bankrupt and terminates your employment.

Before you are made redundant, your employer must consult with you. Your employer must consult with you whenever there are major changes to the workplace. After they have decided to make major changes, they must:

• tell any affected employees about the proposed changes
• give clear information about the changes and their expected effects
• discuss how to reduce negative effects on you
• consider your ideas or suggestions about the changes.

If your job becomes redundant, you may be entitled to redundancy pay.

For more information, see Redundancy pay.

Poor performance

Poor performance or underperformance can include:

• not doing your job to the required standard
• acting in a negative or disruptive manner at work
• failing to comply with workplace policies, rules or procedures.

If your employer believes you have been performing poorly at work, they should:

• organise a meeting to discuss their concerns
• tell you the purpose of the meeting in advance so that you can prepare for the meeting
• tell you that you can have a support person at the meeting
• clearly explain to you what level of performance you are expected to meet and what improvement is required
• clearly warn you that you need to improve your performance
• give you a reasonable amount of time to improve your performance
• warn you that you may be dismissed if your performance doesn’t improve.

Before they decide to dismiss you for poor performance, your employer should give you:

• a written notice with reasons why they are considering dismissing you, and
• a reasonable opportunity to respond to those reasons.

Your employer must consider the reasons you give for your poor performance when deciding whether to dismiss you. 

Poor performance is not the same as serious misconduct.

Serious misconduct

Serious misconduct is when you deliberately behave in a way that is inconsistent with your keeping your job. It can include things like:

• stealing from your employer or committing fraud
• assaulting someone at work
• sexual harassment
• being drunk at work
• refusing to do something at work that is a reasonable part of your job, or
• seriously risking a colleague's health or safety in some way. 

If you are dismissed for serious misconduct, your employer can refuse to give you notice or pay you in lieu (instead) of notice.

You must still be paid for any time you have worked and leave you have.

Abandoning your job

You will abandon your job if you:

• don’t go to work, without giving your employer notice or a reasonable excuse, and
• show an unwillingness or inability to do your job.

If you abandon your job, your employer can dismiss you.

If you are sick and can’t go to work, you should let your employer know as soon as possible. 

For more information, see Leave.

If you no longer want to do your job, you should notify your employer by handing in your resignation. You should also check whether you must give notice. 

For more information, see Resigning from your job.

Notice

If your employer dismisses you, they must give you notice unless you were dismissed because of serious misconduct. The notice must be in writing, unless you are a casual employee. It should not be done by text message. The notice should say:

• the reason for your dismissal
• the notice period you must work, or that you will be paid in lieu of notice
• your last day of work.

Your employer can give you the written notice:

• in person
• by sending it to your home address
• by sending it to you electronically, for example by email, if you agree.

If your employer gives you notice in writing only, you must actually get the notice for the dismissal to be effective.

Minimum notice

Your employer must give you the minimum amount of notice of your dismissal. The minimum notice period is based on how long you were employed for. Your award, enterprise agreement or contract could extend the minimum notice period you must be given.

You must be given an extra week's notice if you are over 45 years old and you have at least two years of continuous service with your employer.

The notice period begins on the day after your employer tells you they are ending your employment, and ends of your last day at work. Public holidays don’t extend the length of the notice period.

You should get legal advice if you have been dismissed and you are not sure how much notice you are entitled to.

For more information, see Dismissal and notice on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Probation period

You must be given notice even if you are still on your probation period. You must be given at least the minimum amount of notice, which is usually one week's notice. You should check if your award, agreement or employment contract gives you a longer notice period.

Reasonable notice

If your employment contract doesn’t clearly state a notice period, a term of reasonable notice may be implied. However, determining an implied term of reasonable notice is complex.

Reasonable notice can take into account factors like your skills, seniority, salary, length of service, your age and the amount of time it will take for you to find a similar position.

For long serving, highly skilled, senior employees, reasonable notice may be up to 12 months. However, for employees who are newer, junior or less skilled, reasonable notice may be much shorter.

If you are trying to work out what 'reasonable notice' is in your circumstances, you should get legal advice.

Working the notice period

If you are dismissed by your employer, you will need to continue to work during the notice period, unless:

• your employer pays you in lieu of notice, or
• you reach an agreement to end your employment early.

If you are dismissed, you and your employer can agree to end your employment  before the end of your notice period. You can do this at any time from when you are dismissed and before the notice period ends. You must still be paid for the minimum notice period and any leave and other entitlements you have earned.

Payment in lieu of notice

Instead of giving you the required period of notice, your employer can pay you the amount that you would have earned for the notice period and ask you to leave straight away. This is called a payment in lieu of notice.

If your employer decides to pay you in lieu of notice, you will normally receive this payment with your final pay. 

You should be paid:

• the hours you would have worked at your full rate of pay
• any incentive-based payments and bonuses
• any loading you are entitled to
• any allowances you are entitled to
• any overtime or penalty rates that you would have been paid had you worked during the notice period.

Your employer can deduct amounts for tax.

For more information about tax and superannuation payments following a dismissal, see Leaving your job on the Australian Taxation Office website.

If you are not paid or you haven't been paid the right amount, you can try and get the money that you are owed.For more information, see What if my entitlements are not paid?

Earning and taking leave

You will continue to earn leave and other entitlements until your last day of work. If you work the notice period, you will continue to earn leave until the end of the notice period. If you are paid in lieu of notice, you won’t earn leave over the notice period.

During your notice period you can take any leave that you have earned, as long as   your employer agrees. You still need to give your employer reasonable notice if you want to take leave.

If you are going to take sick leave, you need to let your employer know as soon as possible. Your employer may ask for you for proof that you can’t work, such as a medical certificate.

If your leave ends before the notice period ends, you will need to return to work for the rest of the notice period, unless you have agreed with your employer that you will end your employment early.

At the end of your notice period, any annual leave that you have earned must be paid out to you. This should be included in your final pay.

For more information, see Leave.

Forced resignation

A resignation is only valid if it is made freely and voluntarily.

Forced resignation is when your employer does something that leaves you with no choice but to resign. This can be because of:

• bullying
• sexual harassment
• underpayment or non-payment of wages and entitlements
• work health and safety issues.

Forced resignation is also called constructive dismissal. It is a type of unfair dismissal.

For more information, see Forced resignation.

Last updated: January 2026