How to Document Performance Issues Before Termination

Document performance concerns as they occur, using specific facts, the standard the employee was expected to meet, the employee’s response, the support offered and what happened next. Do not create a retrospective “paper trail” to justify a decision already made. Accurate records help the employer make a fair decision, but documentation does not turn an unlawful or unsupported termination into a lawful one. “Termination for poor performance” can describe different decisions. An employer may be considering coaching, progressive discipline, termination with notice or pay, or dismissal for just cause without notice. The legal standards and required process are not interchangeable. Just cause is a contextual and proportionate analysis, not a label an employer can create by writing more warnings. The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in McKinley v.