Termination: KK7

termination

• termination is the phase where the employee leaves the business, ending the employment relationship either voluntarily or involuntarily

• it is important that the employee is treated fairly and lawfully during termination

transition considerations

transition considerations are the elements that the business may provide the employees to assist their transition to a new circumstance or job

entitlements

entitlements are what the business is obligated to provide the employee

methods of termination

• retirement

• redundancy

• resignation

• dismissal

retirement

• where an employee decides to leave the business as well as the workforce

• retirement can be a difficult decision for many employees and so the business should be supportive during this time

retirement entitlements

employees are entitled to:

• any accrued benefits (e.g. annual leave and long service leave)

• pay for any work completed

• compulsory superannuation payments during their work

retirement transition considerations

to assist in the transition, businesses can:

• enable the employee to gradually transition into retirement

• provide access to counselling/financial advice

• offering a farewell

redundancy

• redundancy is where an employee leaves the business because their job no longer exists

• may occur for a number of reasons:

  • reducing costs

  • new technologies

  • merging businesses

  • restructuring the business

• can be voluntary or involuntary

  • voluntary redundancy is where all of the employees in business are informed about the business’ plan to reduce employees, and then an individual employee nominates themselves to take up redundancy

  • involuntary redundancy is where the employee is forced to leave because their job no longer exists

redundancy entitlements

employees are entitled to:

• any accrued benefits (e.g. annual leave and long service leave)

• pay for any work completed

• notice period

• redundancy package: this is a payment that the employee received for being made redundant

redundancy transition considerations

to assist in the transition, businesses can:

• offer counselling (e.g. career counselling)

• engage outplacement services

• provide extra time to attend job interviews

• training

resignation

• resignation is where an employee voluntarily leaves the business

• employees may resign for a number of reasons. businesses should find out these reasons to identify if they need to improve

resignation entitlements

employees are entitled to:

• any accrued benefits (e.g. annual leave and long service leave)

• pay for any work completed

• business is entitled to notice

resignation transition considerations

to assist in the transition, businesses can:

• conduct an exit interview

• offer a farewell

• provide a positive refernece for the employee

dismissal

• dismissal is where an employee is terminated due to unacceptable behaviour or performance

  • summary dismissal: when an employee commits a serious breach of their employement contract and can be dismissed immediately

  • on-notice dismissal: when an employee is not performing to standard. they are warned and provided an opportunity to improve

dismissal entitlements

employees are entitled to:

• any accrued benefits (e.g. annual leave and long service leave)

• pay for any work completed

dismissal transition considerations

to assist in the transition, businesses can:

• provide support for other employees

• potential for career transition services

unfair dismissal

• unfair dismissal is when an employee is dismissed from their job in a harsh, unjust or unreasonable manner

• employees can apply to the Fair Work Commission to have their case heard by a triburnal

strengths of transition considerations

• upholds the business’ reputation

• creates a positive corporate culture, as it sends a good message to the existing employees, increases their loyalty

weaknesses of transition considerations

• can be expensive for the business

• can be time consuming for the business

similarities between transition considerations and entitlement considerations

• both sets of considerations could contribute to a business’s labour expense. For example, in relation to transition considerations, the airline could hire an external organisation to provide a range of transition services, such as career counselling and resumé writing workshops, to affected employees; an outlay of money will also be required when paying out employees’ entitlements such as accrued annual leave and long service leave.

• both applied to employees leaving the workplace

differences between transition considerations and entitlement considerations

• transition considerations goes above and beyond legal obligations of the business as they are implemented to ensure positive workplace relations are upheld and support employee morale, whereas entitlement considerations are legally required and these are specifically determined by authorised individuals/triburnals like the Fair work commission and if they are not provided by the business they may face serious legal action/penalty.