What a poor performance claim costs
You were put on a performance plan, then dismissed, and want to know the cost of a claim.
How does your PIP paperwork affect the first meeting?
Ask yourself whether your performance improvement plan (PIP) had dated targets, review meetings and written warnings, or whether it was mostly verbal.
A well documented plan is faster and cheaper for a lawyer to assess. A loose account of being told your work was not good enough takes longer.
Conciliation at JPPM carries no representation fee, since solicitors cannot appear there for either side.1 Most real legal spending starts after that meeting.
Why are comparators often the real cost driver?
Performance cases often turn on whether you got a fair chance to improve, measured against how colleagues in the same role were treated for similar shortfalls.
Tracking down those comparators and recording what happened to them takes time. It is usually the biggest cost item before a hearing.
Done early, it tends to pay for itself. A hearing built on specific comparisons moves faster than one arguing unfairness in general terms.
Can a rushed plan change the price?
A PIP with unrealistic targets or little time to improve can support your case. It still takes careful written argument to land well.
Where the employer’s own records are thin or inconsistent, the case can be quicker to build, since there is less to cross-examine.
Ask for a written fee structure before you commit. Request lawyer contact with general facts first; keep the plan and warnings private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them for an agreed consultation.
What should you do before asking about cost?
Confirm your filing window on the 60-day deadline calculator. A claim filed too late has no cost worth discussing.2
The page on dismissal for poor performance shows how this type of case proceeds. After conciliation, the Section 20 representation page explains the filing.
The guide on what an employment lawyer costs covers fee ranges more broadly. If you want a lawyer to act, an independent employment lawyer may review whether it is a case they can take on.
If you are weighing what a claim over a poor performance dismissal would cost, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send your warnings and any improvement plan. An independent employment lawyer can review it and act for you if it is worth pursuing.
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
Does having a documented performance improvement plan lower my costs?
Usually yes. A clear plan with dated targets and reviews is faster for a lawyer to work through than a vague account of being told you were underperforming, so gather it before your first conversation.
Do I need a lawyer for the conciliation stage?
Not by law, since solicitors are not permitted to represent parties during JPPM conciliation. Many employees attend alone and engage a lawyer only if the matter is referred to the Industrial Court.
Does gathering comparator evidence about other employees cost extra?
It can add some time at the start, since you need to identify people in a similar role and how they were treated. That work often pays off by making the hearing more straightforward.
Should I ask about fees upfront?
Yes. Ask for a clear fee structure before you commit, whether hourly, fixed or staged by phase. It is easier to plan around once the lawyer has seen your PIP documents.
Sources
- After a Section 20 representation, JPPM typically arranges one or two conciliation sessions, and solicitors are not permitted to represent either side at that stage Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- An employee who believes a dismissal had no just cause or excuse can file a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of the dismissal Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If you are weighing what a claim over a poor performance dismissal would cost, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send your warnings and any improvement plan. An independent employment lawyer can review it and act for you if it is worth pursuing.
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.