Mistakes to avoid after being fired
What you do in the first few days can help or hurt a later claim.
What are the most common mistakes after being fired?
The biggest mistake is letting the clock run without acting. A worker has 60 days from the dismissal date to lodge a written representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations.1
Other mistakes are easy to avoid:
- Signing a resignation letter or settlement without reading it slowly.
- Deleting work chats, emails or files instead of saving copies.
- Posting about the dismissal publicly before speaking to anyone.
- Treating the reason given at the meeting as the final, official one.
- Waiting to see if your employer changes their mind.
Why do these mistakes matter?
Each one either loses evidence or wastes time. Once a case reaches the Industrial Court, your employer has to prove the dismissal was for just cause or excuse.2
Your evidence exists mainly to challenge your employer’s version of events. Lost documents or lost days weaken your reply, even when the dismissal was unfair.
What should you do instead?
Save everything you can reach today. The guide on evidence worth keeping before access disappears is a useful checklist.
Confirm your dismissal date with the deadline calculator instead of estimating from memory. Write a short, factual, dated account of what happened.
If you have already made one of these mistakes, say so when you speak to a lawyer, because the sooner it is known, the easier it is to work around.
Send what happened and when to an independent employment lawyer, who can review where your claim stands and act if you still have grounds.
If you have already done some of these things after being fired, an independent employment lawyer can review where your claim stands. They can take it forward if you still have grounds.
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 signing a settlement quickly always a mistake?
Not always, but signing before you understand what you are giving up usually is. Read every clause, ask what happens to any pending claim once you sign, and get a second opinion if the offer arrived with pressure to decide immediately.
Does venting about the dismissal on social media hurt a case?
It can. Public posts about the employer or the dismissal can be used by the other side later, and they rarely add anything useful to your own claim. A private written record serves you far better than a public one.
I already missed a few days before acting, is it too late?
Not necessarily. A delay of a few days does not close the claim, but the 60-day window keeps running. Count your days and act before it closes.
Should I confront my employer about why I was really dismissed?
A calm written request for the reason is reasonable, but a heated confrontation rarely helps and can complicate later evidence. Put your questions in writing where possible, since that also creates a useful record for your case.
Sources
- A worker has 60 days from the dismissal date to lodge a written representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- The burden falls on the employer, not the employee, to prove the dismissal was for just cause or excuse. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If you have already done some of these things after being fired, an independent employment lawyer can review where your claim stands. They can take it forward if you still have grounds.
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.