My HR manager says I can’t fire anyone. Are they right?

This is one of the most common and frustrating statements business owners hear once HR enters the picture. “I’ve been told we can’t fire anyone.” “I’m told the risk is too high.” “I’m told Fair Work will crucify us.” For growing businesses, this often creates paralysis. Leaders stop trusting their instincts, managers stop acting, and underperformance lingers far longer than it should. The truth is more nuanced.

Why HR often sounds like the blocker

HR professionals are trained to identify risk.

That means HR often focuses on:

• what could go wrong
• worst case scenarios
• procedural gaps
• documentation weaknesses

When that risk framing is delivered without commercial context, it can sound like prohibition.

HR is not saying “you can’t”.
HR is often saying “this is how it could go wrong”.

The problem is when that message lands without options.

What HR actually controls and what it does not

HR does not have the authority to stop lawful termination decisions.

HR’s role is to:

• advise on risk
• outline process
• flag exposure
• recommend safer approaches

The decision to terminate sits with:

• the employer
• the leadership team
• the business owner

Confusion arises when advice is mistaken for permission.

Why growing businesses feel this tension more

At under 100 employees:

• leaders are closer to the work
• performance issues feel obvious
• tolerance for delay is low
• mistakes feel expensive

HR advice can feel disconnected from reality when it focuses on ideal process rather than practical decision making.

This creates friction between:

• operational urgency
• risk management

Neither side is wrong.
But misalignment creates stalemate.

When HR advice is genuinely saving you from a mistake

Sometimes HR is right to slow things down.

This is usually when:

• expectations were never clearly set
• documentation is thin or contradictory
• termination follows a complaint or leave request
• managers have acted inconsistently
• emotions are driving the decision

In these situations, HR caution is not obstruction.
It is protection.

The issue is not that termination is impossible.
It is that the path chosen is risky.

When HR advice becomes overly conservative

HR advice becomes unhelpful when it:

• focuses only on worst case outcomes
• ignores commercial impact
• treats all risk as equal
• removes choice rather than clarifying it

Businesses do not need zero risk decisions.
They need managed risk decisions.

Good HR advice presents options.
Poor HR advice presents fear.

The cost of never terminating anyone

Avoiding termination has consequences.

Common outcomes include:

• high performers carrying others
• managers disengaging
• standards slipping
• resentment building
• culture quietly eroding

Over time, the cost of inaction exceeds the cost of risk.

This is where businesses feel trapped between HR advice and operational reality.

How good HR advice should actually sound

Effective HR advice sounds like:

• here are your options
• here is the risk profile of each
• here is how to reduce exposure
• here is what good looks like

It does not sound like:

• you can never terminate
• Fair Work will destroy you
• it is not worth trying

HR exists to support decisions, not veto them.

Why outsourced HR often works better than internal HR at this stage

Internal HR can struggle in growing businesses when:

• authority is unclear
• HR reports to multiple stakeholders
• risk aversion becomes self protection
• relationships become political

Outsourced HR often works better because it:

• sits outside internal dynamics
• focuses on outcomes
• balances risk and reality
• supports leaders rather than controls them

This is why many growing businesses feel relief when they shift to external advice.

What to do if you feel stuck between HR and reality

If you feel paralysed, the issue is usually not the decision.
It is the framing.

Ask:

• what outcome are we trying to achieve
• what risk are we actually worried about
• what options exist between doing nothing and immediate termination

Good advice creates movement.
Bad advice creates fear.

Where HR support adds the most value here

HR support is most valuable when it:

• reframes decisions in practical terms
• distinguishes legal risk from discomfort
• supports managers through execution
• restores confidence in decision making

This is where HR earns trust rather than resistance.

Before assuming you are stuck

If you are being told you cannot terminate anyone, ask for clarity, not permission.

The right question is not “can we do this”.
It is “how do we do this properly”.

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