Most people don’t love their jobs. It’s just a sad fact of being an adult. That doesn’t mean they’re ready to lose them, though. Being gainfully employed is a pretty crucial part of surviving in life.
If you’re one of the lucky ones that love your job, count yourself lucky because that is a blessing these days. For the rest of us, the only thing worse than being at work is getting canned from said work.
Every year, more than twenty million workers get retrenched or fired. Sometimes the company has a valid reason, like downsizing – and other times, something more sinister is going on.
If you have recently been unfairly dismissed – below are five tips to help you come up with the steps to take next:
- Know Your Rights
While it is entirely legal to dismiss an employee for multiple reasons – some crucial steps and protocols must be followed. Those steps ensure the process is fair. Your company should have a code of conduct to outline the reasons for dismissal and the process surrounding each particular offence or transgression.
You need to know your rights so you can identify whether a dismissal is fair or not. Employees are entitled to procedural fairness when it comes to being dismissed.
- Coping Emotionally
Apart from the drastic financial impact being dismissed will have on your life, there is a largely unspoken side of dismissals – the emotional and psychological side.
Very few events in your working career are quite as traumatic as surviving a dismissal. Learning that a company doesn’t value you or your input is rather demoralizing.
Allow yourself to immediately feel emotions like hurt or anger – but recognize that you need to move on from that state. Don’t lash out publicly or on social media because that will only do more harm than good.
- The Next Steps
Once you’ve rounded up your closest friends for a venting session and a few drinks, move on to something more productive. If you’re positive that you didn’t break any rules and your work performance wasn’t sub-par, then contact a reputable law firm to assist.
If you feel you were unfairly dismissed, then you may have a legal claim, but you need to chat with a professional to get some advice. Most times, these consultations are free, or the team charges a nominal amount just to get the ball rolling.
- Mediation
If your case goes further and the claim gets ruled in your favour, you can expect your ex-company to reach out to mediate. They may offer you your old job back, which is great if you want it – but most people few that cases like these leave a sour taste in their mouths.
Think long and hard about what you want to do and how you want to proceed if you win – the path toward mediation isn’t always an easy one.
- Moving Forward
Think about the future and all the goals you want to achieve. If you don’t feel like you can achieve those with your old company, then don’t return. Move on to bigger and better things. You deserve so much more than just being messed around.
Take the time to decide what you want out of your career, and take the necessary steps to achieve it. You deserve that much.
