What Just Cause And Excuse Means
Your employer says they had a good reason, and you want to know what that actually requires.
Just cause or excuse is the phrase the law uses for the standard an employer must meet before ending your job fairly. It sounds vague, but it has a specific meaning.
What It Means
A just cause or excuse is a real, provable reason connected to your conduct, performance, or the genuine needs of the business, combined with a process that gave you a fair chance to respond before the decision was made.
A reason that sounds plausible but cannot be backed with evidence, or a decision made without hearing your side, usually falls short of this standard.
Why It Matters To You
This standard is the actual question an Industrial Court asks when your case reaches a hearing. Everything else, including the label your employer used, exists to answer this one question.
Because your employer carries the burden of proving just cause or excuse, a vague or shifting explanation for your dismissal often helps your case rather than weakens it.1
What Counts As A Fair Reason
Genuine misconduct, a documented performance problem after real support, or a real redundancy can each qualify, provided the process behind it was fair. A reason invented after the fact, or applied inconsistently against other staff, usually does not.
If your dismissal followed a specific allegation, read about misconduct to see how that reason is normally tested.
Whatever the stated reason, the 60-day window to challenge it still applies, so check your exact date on the deadline calculator.
Sharing the reason your employer gave, and whether you were allowed to respond to it, helps us see if it meets the legal standard.
Common questions
Is being a difficult employee enough to count as just cause?
On its own, usually not. An employer needs a specific, provable reason connected to your conduct or performance, and a process that let you respond. A general sense that someone is difficult rarely survives scrutiny by itself.
What if my employer never explained the reason?
That gap works in your favour. Since your employer carries the burden of proving just cause or excuse, a dismissal with no clear stated reason is harder for them to defend once the matter is examined.
Sources
- The burden of proof in an unfair dismissal case rests on the employer, who must show the dismissal was for just cause or excuse. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
Keep reading
Sharing the reason your employer gave, and whether you were allowed to respond to it, helps us see if it meets the legal standard.