Organise your evidence before you lose it
Save the right documents before access disappears.
Why order of saving matters
Access to work email, chat groups and internal systems can be cut off the moment your employment ends, sometimes the same day. Save what you can before that happens, starting with the items hardest to recover.
The employer carries the burden of showing your dismissal had just cause, so your records exist to test their account, not to build the whole case alone.1
Save these in priority order
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Your termination letter, show cause letter or any written notice, saved as a photo or forwarded to a personal email immediately.
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Your employment contract and any letters of appointment, confirmation or promotion.
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Recent appraisals or performance reviews, especially any that were positive before the dismissal.
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Payslips for at least the last twelve months, to establish your last drawn salary and length of service.
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Relevant chat messages or emails, screenshotted in full with visible dates and names, not cropped to a single line.
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Names and contact details of colleagues who witnessed key events, noted privately rather than asked to confirm anything in writing yet.
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Any company policy, handbook or memo relevant to what happened, such as a retrenchment notice or a restructuring announcement.
What to do with your result
Put everything in one folder, named by date, and keep a copy somewhere outside company systems, such as a personal drive or printed file.
Do not alter, annotate or delete anything, since the original version of a document is worth more than an edited one.
Once your folder is complete, read what evidence and documentation matters and check the deadline calculator so your saving does not eat into the sixty day window.
How a lawyer helps from here
A lawyer looks at what you already have and tells you which gaps matter and which do not. They can also advise on how to request further documents from your employer without weakening your position.
Common questions
What if I already lost access to my work email?
Check personal devices, printed copies and any messages you forwarded before losing access. Colleagues who received the same emails may also have copies, though ask carefully and avoid pressuring anyone still employed there.
Do I need the burden of proof if the employer has to prove their case?
Yes, because your evidence still shapes what the employer has to answer and how the case is argued. Good records make it harder for an employer's account to go unchallenged.
Keep reading
Once your documents are saved and sorted, a short message lets a lawyer see straight away what you already have.