Find the right route for your case

Work through this in order

Answer these questions honestly, in sequence, and stop at the first one that matches what happened to you.

1. Were you told, in writing or verbally, that your employment has ended? If yes, your likely route is a Section 20 representation, and the sixty day clock has already started.¹

2. Did you resign because conditions became unbearable, a salary cut, a demotion, a forced transfer? This points toward constructive dismissal, which still runs through Section 20 but needs a documented sequence of events first.

3. Were you told your position is redundant or the company is restructuring? This points toward retrenchment or redundancy, where fairness of selection matters as much as the fact of the layoff.

4. Are you still employed but on a performance improvement plan, or facing a show-cause letter or a domestic inquiry? Your case has not concluded yet, so your priority is documentation, not filing.

5. Are you within your probation period and facing dismissal? A different but related route applies; read about probation dismissal before deciding.

6. Is your issue unpaid salary, overtime or statutory money rather than the dismissal itself? That belongs with the Labour Office, not the Industrial Relations route.

What to do with your result

Write down which number matched and the date the triggering event happened. That single line, category plus date, is what a lawyer needs to tell you quickly whether time is short.

If you matched question one or two, treat the sixty day window as running now and read what unfair dismissal means alongside the deadline calculator.

If you matched question four, your task for now is collecting paperwork, not filing, so an evidence organiser is a better next stop.

How a lawyer helps from here

A lawyer can confirm which category actually fits once they see your letters and dates, because employers sometimes label a dismissal as a resignation or a mutual separation. They can also tell you whether your facts support more than one route at once, and which one to lead with when you make your representation.