Employers lose as much as 80% of cases involving unfair dismissal because they failed to adhere to fair methods, not because they had no legitimate basis to fire the employee.
Every employee is entitled to equal treatment and natural justice—basic fair play, in other words—if they are at risk of losing their jobs, irrespective of how nasty their behavior or how incapable they are. To learn more about fair employee dismissal, click here.
Steps you should take in fair procedures in dismissing a worker
You may want to find out more about what the law considers to be justifiable grounds for termination before looking at the procedural measures you must adhere to to guarantee fair procedures:
- Competence
- Conduct
- Redundancy
You must follow fair processes if you have subjected an employee to a fair disciplinary procedure, issued him a final written warning, or if you are thinking about firing an employee for serious misbehavior.
The following steps can be followed to put these general rules into effect while considering a dismissal.
- The worker should get an official invitation to a disciplinary meeting from the employer in writing. This letter should provide an outline of the reason for the meeting and the likelihood of dismissal after the disciplinary hearing.
- It makes sense to inform the employee that she has the right to representation during this meeting. Although there have been disagreements on this matter over the years, in general, a coworker or trade union representative would be allowed to participate in these meetings. As a result, each case would be assessed on its own merits, taking into account the severity of the situation, etc.
- Before choosing to dismiss an employee, the worker should be given the chance to respond to any allegations and objections in depth.
- An unbiased hearing should be provided to the employee without any anticipated outcomes.
- Any punishment must be fair in light of the claimed offense or issue.
- A right to challenge a decision to terminate an employee’s employment should be given.
It is easy for employers to mess up a termination and expose themselves to a legitimate unfair dismissal action. You may avoid a claim by following the six steps mentioned above and the broad guidelines provided in SI 146/2000.
You might have had a strong case if you were fired from your position without being given a chance for fair proceedings, natural or constitutional justice—basic fair play.