A valid reason to dismiss is not always enough

Having a valid reason for dismissal was not enough to save two employers from being found to have unfairly dismissed their workers in two recent Fair Work Commission (Commission) cases.

The cases serve as a reminder to employers that procedural fairness must be afforded to employees at all stages of the termination process, which includes:

• providing allegations of wrongdoing in writing for an employee to review (and being prepared to rely on these allegations or investigation reports as evidence in a trial)
• independently verifying the allegations of misconduct
• giving an employee the opportunity to respond to allegations of misconduct
• notifying an employee of the reason for dismissal prior to terminating their employment