What is just cause or excuse?
Your employer says they had a good reason, and you want to know what that actually requires.
Just cause or excuse is the standard an employer must meet before ending your job fairly. It sounds vague, but it has a specific meaning.
What does just cause or excuse mean?
A just cause or excuse is a real, provable reason connected to your conduct, your performance or the genuine needs of the business. It also needs a process that gave you a fair chance to respond before the decision.
A reason that sounds plausible but has no evidence behind it, or a decision made without hearing your side, falls short.
Why does it matter to you?
This standard is the question an Industrial Court asks when your case reaches a hearing. Everything else, including the label your employer used, exists to answer it.
Because your employer must prove just cause or excuse, a vague or shifting explanation for your dismissal can help your case rather than weaken it.1
What counts as a fair reason?
Genuine misconduct, a documented performance problem after real support, or a real redundancy can each qualify, provided the process behind it was fair. A reason invented after the fact, or applied unevenly against other staff, does not.
If your dismissal followed a specific allegation, read about misconduct to see how that reason is tested.
The 60-day window to challenge any stated reason still applies, so check your exact date on the deadline calculator.
If you doubt the reason you were given and are considering a claim, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts and advise whether to act.
If you doubt the reason your employer gave for dismissing you, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts. They can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
Is being a difficult employee enough to count as just cause?
On its own, no. An employer needs a specific, provable reason connected to your conduct or performance, and a process that let you respond. A general feeling that someone is difficult does not meet that standard.
What if my employer never explained the reason?
That gap works in your favour. Your employer must prove just cause or excuse, so a dismissal with no clear stated reason is harder to defend once examined.
Sources
- The burden of proof in an unfair dismissal case rests on the employer, who must show the dismissal was for just cause or excuse. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
Keep reading
If you doubt the reason your employer gave for dismissing you, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts. They can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.