How to end employment
in a fair and legally compliant manner
Sections
- An overview of how the employment relationship can come to an end
- Where an employee is on probation
- Where the employee’s behaviour requires addressing (misconduct)
- Where the employee is trying but appears to be unable to perform the work to the required standard (Poor Performance)
- Where the employee is unable to work due to sickness or injury
- Where the employee is unable to get on with fellow employees (incompatibility)
- Where the employer needs to reduce, move or change job requirements for operational, financial or technological reasons (retrenchment)
- Where employees go on an unprotected strike
- What is the meaning of “Dismissal”
- What is an “automatically unfair dismissal”
- What happens when an employee resigns
- What happens when an employee retires
- What happens when a fixed term contract comes to an end
- What are an employer’s legal obligations to an employee once the employment relationship ends
- What are an employee’s obligations to an employer once the employment relationship ends
- What happens when an employee refers a dispute to the CCMA/BC
- What are the different CCMA/BC processes
This section provides best practice guidelines for small businesses on how to end the employment relationship in a fair and in compliance with the law. For a dismissal to be fair there must be a fair reason for the dismissal and a fair procedure must be followed.
An employment relationship is based on an agreement between the employer and the employee. When the agreement ends, the contract of employment terminates.
Dismissing an employee has serious consequences for both the employer and employee alike. For an employee, being dismissed is the most severe sanction that can be imposed. Dismissals, if challenged, could prove to be costly and time consuming for the employer.
This guide outlines what steps the employer should follow in dismissing an employee on one of the following grounds:
- Conduct
- Capacity (this includes poor performance, incompatibility, ill health or injury)
- The employer’s operational requirements (retrenchment)