It’s getting harder and harder to sack someone in Australia today.

There are so many ‘i’s to dot and ‘t’s to cross before you can dismiss a troublesome or underperforming member of staff – it’s almost not worth bothering!

And not only that – understanding all your obligations has become even more difficult given the recent changes introduced by the Fair Work Act.

But never fear – there are steps you can take to manage your exposure to unfair dismissal claims – and that’s where the Employment Law Practical Handbook can help.

Here are 5 things you can do right now to help prevent your business being exposed to unfair dismissal claims:

1. Use position descriptions

If you spell out the duties, responsibilities and key competencies of a role at the outset of employment, you will have a proper basis to establish a performance management process. If it becomes necessary to dismiss an employee, this will better equip you to dismiss them on the grounds that they cannot perform their job properly.

2. Implement probationary periods

Probationary periods serve as a useful human resource management tool by putting the employee on notice that their suitability for the role is to be assessed in the initial period of their employment.

3. Develop discipline and dismissal policies

If you have proper procedures in place for dealing with performance issues, you will be better able to ensure that your managers follow proper processes.

4. Give employees a chance to air their grievances

Most unfair dismissal claims come from a genuine grievance held by the dismissed employee about their treatment. If you take steps to address that sense of grievance prior to the employee leaving the company, you are more likely to avoid legal issues.

5. Consider mutual separation as an alternative to dismissal

Where the grounds for termination are readily established, a mutual separation will give you more security (there’s more info on mutual separation in the Employment Law Practical Handbook).

The Employment Law Practical Handbook will show you EXACTLY what you can do – within the law – when faced with the issue of dismissal.

Here is just some of the practical advice you’ll find in chapter U1 Unfair Dismissal:

• The 8 things you can never dismiss an employee for… more information on Page U1/4
• The 4 types of employees who cannot make an unfair dismissal claim … more information on Page U1/5
• How to object to an unfair dismissal claim – legally…. more information on U1/11
• How to make sure you do not force an employee to resign – if you do, you could be held liable! … more information on Page U1/16
• The 6 Do’s and 2 Don’ts of dismissing an employee for poor performance … more information on Page U1/27