There is no specific requirement under legislation to give employees 3 warnings before going through a termination. However, employers should ensure they follow the law.

Employers must ensure that when it comes to termination:

• the employee receives the amount of notice they are entitled to
• the dismissal is fair (i.e. not harsh, unjust or unreasonable)
• the dismissal is lawful (i.e. the employee has not been dismissed for a discriminatory reason).

While there is no specific number of warnings under legislation, when it comes to unfair dismissal what may be taken into consideration is whether an employee has been sufficiently warned that their employment may not continue because of poor performance. They should also be given an opportunity to fix the problem.

Managing employee underperformance is important in any business.  Failure to manage underperformance effectively, appropriately and sensitively is likely to have consequences for the employer, the underperforming employee, and the rest of the workplace. Take a look at our best practice guide for information on how to manage underperformance.