Today, we`re going to look at what each of these reasons means in simple terms. Here, maintaining employment would lead to a violation of legal law. For example, if an employee is not allowed to work, you can invoke the ground of illegality for dismissal. A more unusual reason, illegality, refers to a dismissal that is necessary because their continued employment would be illegal – for example, if a person is employed whose permission to work in the country has expired, or if an employee who was hired to drive is banned. It should be noted that the formal termination procedure must continue to be followed – for example, considering whether a driver can be accommodated in an office position or whether the employee whose work permit has expired is likely to be able to resolve the issue within a reasonable period of time (provided that he or she has ensured that a valid renewal application has been submitted and has been granted the right to work until that the decision be made). Remember that fairness and adequacy are always your key factors in any termination situation, and try to be flexible whenever possible and fair. This includes both types of skills – medical and performance-related – so there are a few things to consider when using „capacity“ as a reason for dismissal. In case of illness, you should pay special attention to the following: – Can the employee be supported? Can reasonable adjustments be made? – Can you give the employee time to recover? – How long has the employee been absent? – Do you fully understand the employee`s condition (treatment and prognosis) and have you received reports from the appropriate professionals? – Can you propose alternative arrangements such as reduced hours, different roles or flexible working? In cases where the exercise of a role is questioned, it is necessary to follow a formal warning process in which performance plans, necessary training and coaching are offered to deal with the situation alongside a formalized disciplinary procedure. Another common ground for dismissal is misconduct. This could be something like regularly showing up late for work or not following workplace procedures properly.
Normally, in such cases, the employer would again be obliged to issue an early warning and offer a change in order to improve. Only if the misconduct persisted would they have the right to dismiss the employee. Serious misconduct such as theft, violence or illegal acts that could justify termination without notice is excluded from this situation. Employees employed for two years or more are protected against unfair dismissal and can bring an action before the Labour Court in the event of dismissal. An employer can defend a claim for unfair dismissal by proving that it had a potentially just cause for dismissal and that it acted fairly when it was dismissed for that reason. Note that previous categories such as dismissal for retirement are no longer valid. Dismissal can be another valid reason why employers must fire an employee, for example because of a business closure, a job closure, or a lower requirement for employees to perform a certain type of work. The selection procedure for dismissal must be fair and clear from the outset (including a consultation process and consideration of any other work), otherwise a worker can always request unfair dismissal. A long-term illness could be a fair cause for dismissal, but only if it is not related to a disability, and only after you have tried to make the appropriate adjustments so that the employee can continue to work. There are a number of different reasons why an employer may fire employees. In most cases, the employer must follow certain procedures or criteria to ensure that the dismissal is fair, otherwise it could be challenged in court.
In some circumstances, dismissal due to genuine dismissal is automatically unfair, for example if the employee was selected because she is pregnant, so it is important to be careful. But not all reasons for termination are the same. So, what are the 5 just reasons for dismissal and what reasons could put an employer in hot water? Behavior in the workplace is one of the most common reasons for firing an employee. For example, Dave is involved in a one-time incident of serious misconduct, such as a fight or theft. Legal dismissal – if the employee is unable to carry out his or her job for legal reasons – for example, a driver who has lost his driving licence, a foreign worker who loses his or her right to work in the UK or a lawyer who is excluded from practice. This blog contains a summary of these reasons, and over the next few weeks I will discuss each of them in more detail. Even if you have a valid reason to fire someone, you must follow the right procedure, otherwise the dismissal is still unfair. This may require you to pay compensation to the employee. While the employer may invoke one of the five potentially fair grounds for dismissal, this does not mean that an employer will not enforce its request for unfair dismissal. For this reason, the employer must nevertheless have acted fairly when the employee is dismissed, both as regards the respect of a fair trial before the dismissal (procedural justice) and the dismissal for the reason indicated in the particular circumstances (substantive fairness). If you came across this article looking for training or support, please visit our Disciplinary Management and Termination training page. Feel free to share this article with your supervisors and if you would like more articles like this, subscribe to our mailing list.
When an employer fires an employee, the employer must ensure that they are acting appropriately and must dismiss for one of five legal reasons: we can offer in-house training (see below) or if you prefer to save money and run the course yourself, try our disciplinary management and layoff training materials. The process will vary slightly, depending on the reasons relied on. However, some of the most important steps are described here. First of all, there usually needs to be a reasonable investigation – the depth of it depends on the case. The employee must then be invited in writing to a formal hearing where the allegations are stated in advance so that he or she can prepare properly. The hearing should be presided over by an impartial decision-maker and the worker should be given every opportunity to respond. After the meeting, the chair would decide and a right of appeal would have to be filed. Sometimes a court expects warnings to be issued first, for example in the case of poor performance, or sometimes it may be appropriate to proceed directly with a dismissal, for example, if an incident of serious misconduct has occurred. Have you ever welcomed someone and then wished you hadn`t? You may be wondering if it is right or legal to reject them. The first step is therefore to identify a potentially fair reason for dismissal. If an employer cannot prove that he had a legitimate reason, the dismissal is unjustified.
The five potentially fair reasons are: – explained to the employee why it was considered to fire him and listened to his point of view; It should also be noted that it may be fair to dismiss an employee for conduct outside the workplace if there is evidence that the misconduct has affected the employee`s work or the employer`s activities in any way (for example, damaging the employer`s reputation). The increasing use of social media has contributed significantly to an increase in this type of layoff. If you need help managing a dismissal fairly, we can offer you the following: dismissal is a different type of dismissal, because it is the role and not the employee that is no longer needed, and if no suitable and alternative employment is found for the person, this will result in their dismissal. Redundancy is not a reason you should rely on unless there are specific organizational requirements that need to be met, such as: – The organization stops negotiating. – There is not enough work to justify retaining all employees (for example, during a recession). – There is a specific job or set of jobs that can no longer be supported due to a reorganization or relocation of the company. Dismissals may take place only after appropriate consultation, the duration of which depends on the number of possible redundancies. In the case of fewer than 20 layoffs, this will be done over a reasonable period of time. For dismissals of more than 20 days within 90 days in a single institution, there should be a consultation period of at least 30 days, and for dismissals of more than 100 days, the period should be at least 45 days. Always remember that you are ending the role and not the person. Capacity can include poor health, for example, if an employee has a persistent or long-term illness like cancer, making it very difficult to do their job. Before dismissal, the employer must: The dismissal of an employee is often emotionally difficult – there are times when an employee can be very popular, but must be fired for the benefit of the company.