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During the course of being an employer and maintaining your business, you are likely to come to a situation where you will either end the employment of an employee, or they will leave your business. Employment with your business ends when an employee resigns, retires, is made redundant or is dismissed. It is important to understand your and your employee's obligations when employment comes to an end.

Resignation is a right of your employees, however they should give their employer sufficient prior notice in writing. An employee may choose to retire from work and should also give their employer notice in writing.

A job or position may become redundant when the work performed by the employee is no longer necessary or required. This usually occurs where an employee's job has been replaced by technology or due to business restructuring. It may also occur where a business is being wound up and will cease to exist. Information regarding employee entitlements upon being made redundant is available on the Australian Taxation Office website.

The other way that an employment can be terminated is through the process of dismissal. However, in order to legally dismiss an employee, you must provide a sufficient reason. The reason may be based on poor performance, inappropriate conduct or changes to your operational requirements.

Unfair dismissal has a number of legal implications. A dismissal is unfair when it is harsh, unreasonable or unjust. There are also a number of tax obligations relating to the ending of employment. The Fair Work Ombudsman provides details about the termination of employment. You can also read more about the different methods of ending employment on business.gov.au.