What A Fair Performance Dismissal Looks Like
A fair process usually looks the same, whatever the specific performance issue was.
What Makes A Performance Dismissal Fair?
A fair process generally rests on three things happening together: a clear standard, a real chance to meet it, and honest feedback along the way.
Clear standards mean you actually knew what was expected, ideally in writing, rather than guessing at unspoken expectations.
A real chance to improve means reasonable time and support, not a target set to be impossible to hit.
The employer still carries the burden of proving just cause once a dismissal is challenged, so gaps in any of these three areas work in your favour 1.
Where Performance Dismissals Most Often Go Wrong
The most common problem is a standard that was never clearly communicated before the dismissal happened.
The second is a chance to improve that existed on paper but was not genuinely supported in practice.
The third is feedback that only appeared after the decision to dismiss was already made, rather than along the way.
If a dismissal follows and is later found unfair, back wages, where awarded, are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer 2.
How To Check Your Own Situation
Write down what standard you were told to meet, and when you were told it.
List every piece of feedback you received, and when it arrived relative to the final decision.
Read about whether your own improvement plan looked genuine if one was used in your case.
An employment lawyer can weigh these details against your specific dismissal and tell you where it stands.
It also helps to think about whether colleagues in similar roles were treated the same way when performance concerns came up for them.
Consistency matters here, and a process applied only to you, while others with similar issues faced no consequences, is a detail worth raising.
Ask colleagues you trust, carefully and without pressuring them, whether they recall how similar situations were generally handled on your team.
Their observations, even general ones, can help you judge whether your own process was actually typical or noticeably different.
Fairness is rarely about a single moment.
It is usually visible only once the whole process is laid out and reviewed together.
Fair process protects both sides, not only the worker raising the challenge.
A documented, consistent process protects everyone involved in the end.
Comparing what actually happened in your case against a fair process checklist is exactly the kind of review an employment lawyer can do with you.
Common questions
Does one bad review justify a dismissal?
Usually not on its own. Fair process generally involves a pattern of documented issues, a real chance to improve, and reasonable warning that the job was at risk, not a single review used as the sole basis.
Does my employer have to follow their own HR policy exactly?
Their own policy is a useful reference point, and a serious departure from it can support an unfairness argument. It is not the only factor considered, since fairness is judged on the overall picture too.
What if the standards were never made clear to me?
Unclear standards are one of the stronger fairness problems, since it is difficult to justify dismissing someone for missing a target they were never actually given. Note this clearly in your own account of events.
Is a dismissal unfair just because I disagree with the assessment?
Disagreeing with the assessment is not enough on its own. What matters more is whether the process was fair and the standards reasonable, which is a different question from whether you personally agree with the outcome.
Sources
- The burden falls on the employer, not the employee, to prove the dismissal was for just cause or excuse. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- Back wages awarded for unfair dismissal are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer. DNH
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Comparing what actually happened in your case against a fair process checklist is exactly the kind of review an employment lawyer can do with you.