Ending the employment of a staff member is never easy, especially if they’ve worked at the business for a while and formed relationships with other staff. Many managers find it hard to give ‘bad news’, even when they recognise that the person is not capable of doing the work required. The law varies in different countries, but there are over-riding principles of fairness and ‘due process’ that need to be followed in almost all jurisdictions.

In this interview, Ken Burgin talks with Dru Gillan, a lawyer specialising in employment law. We discussed the principle reasons for dismissal: poor performance, misconduct, dangerous behaviour, refusing to follow instructions and retrenchment. We also discussed how to hold a proper performance interview and whether ‘3 warnings’ are always necessary. If an employee comes back with a claim of ‘unfair dismissal’, when are they justified? As always, good Job Descriptions and proper Work Contracts make the whole process much fairer and straightforward.

Find Dru Gillan at Service Industry Legal Services – the man to talk to in Australia for industrial relations and employment law assistance.

Download Descriptions-Kitchen-Staff-Download.cfm">24 Job Descriptions for key hospitality positions from Profitable Hospitality, and back it up with a properly-written Policy-Manual-Download.cfm">Staff Manual. This gives everyone a fair go.