For the Executive: What to do When You’ve Been Dismissed
By: Farrah Motley
Tags: Employment Law, Dismissal, Executive Employment, Executives, Employment

What should you do if you’ve been dismissed from your executive job?

You are (or were) an executive or senior staff member. Your employer has unceremoniously shown you the door. Maybe they’ve asked you to sign a deed, or perhaps they are about to.

Either way, what do you — the former executive — do?

This article explores the options open to executives and senior staff in Australia who are (or are about to be) dismissed from their employment.

Author: Farrah Motley, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland

1. “The writing is on the wall”

Sometimes, it may become apparent to an executive that their employer is looking to ‘make a move’ long before the guillotine falls. If you have noticed that invitations to meetings have become less frequent, your direct report(s) seem to have more knowledge of key business matters than you, your decision-making powers have been dashed or some other fishy activity — this should be a red flag.

At this point, preparation is key. Those conversations that may seem innocuous — write a diary note about them. Those emails that may seem to hint at issues regarding your executive role or responsibilities — print them. Those job boards that seem to be advertising for a role with eerily similar duties to yours (albeit with a different job title) — save them.

All of these things may serve you well as evidence later down the track.

2. Do not sign anything or comment in writing

Don’t sign anything or provide any written comments to your employer. At least, not until you have spoken to a lawyer.

There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, being dismissed from a role you gave your heart and soul to can be emotional (to say the least!) and you may say things you will later come to regret. Secondly, you may inadvertently impact any legal claim you may later wish to bring, with disastrous consequences.

My tip? Play it cool. Ask questions, but don’t answer them.

If you can, write the answers down or follow up and confirm with your employer what they said to you in the meeting. Contemporaneous notes (that is, a record written around the time of an event) can be worth their weight in gold. This is particularly the case where the notes were shared and went unchallenged, and later any dispute with your employer becomes a ‘he said’ / ‘she said’ scenario.

3. Dust off your executive employment agreement

If you were considered a high income earner, your employment contract becomes ever more important. This is because if you earned over the high income threshold, you do not have the benefit of unfair dismissal protections under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Depending on the reasons for your dismissal and the way in which your employer went about the dismissal, you may seek to bring a claim for breach of your executive employment contract.

4. Consider your options

If you prefer the ‘all guns blazing’ approach, you may choose to bring a claim against your employer for:

adverse action; or breach of contract.

Not everyone wants their dismissal to be as public as ex Australia Post CEO, Christine Holgate. If that’s not your style or you want to minimise the personal toll of any potential legal action, you can seek to pursue an out-of-court settlement. Often, your employer will be the one seeking to keep your dismissal and any legal fallout ‘on the down-low’.

5. Seek legal advice

Let me say it again — seek legal advice! Employment law issues are very rarely straight forward. You need to make sure you have a qualified and experienced employment lawyer in your corner.

Time is of the essence, so it’s important to seek legal advice and seek it fast.

Luckily, we’re here to help! We can provide expert legal advice for executives.

Author: Farrah Motley | Legal Principal

PROSPER LAW — A Law Firm for Businesses

M: 0422 721 121

E: farrah@prosperlaw.com.au

W: www.prosperlaw.com.au