Every employee has the right to go to work and do their best, regardless of the role they have in the business. If their best isn’t good enough then they have a right to be told and the opportunity to improve. After all, it’s hard to be better at a job if you don’t know you’re not doing it well.
For this reason, all companies have a handbook and issue contracts. It helps employees to understand their rights, the process the company takes to deal with issues, and how an employee can be terminated. If an employer fails to follow these procedures then the employee will be automatically considered as unfairly dismissed.
That’s when you need to contact a reputable unfair dismissal employment lawyer and take the matter further. You should note that you only have a limited time to make a claim. If you think you’ve been unfairly dismissed, act fast.
Of course, the rules can seem confusing. That’s why you’ll find it beneficial to understand the 5 fair reasons for dismissal.
1. Poor Conduct
Poor conduct covers the way an employee behaves. For example, if they are known to harass other employees or bully them then they have poor conduct and can be dismissed.
Poor conduct also applies to consistently being late, unexplained absences, and even insubordination.
This heading also covers gross misconduct which is when the employee has done something more serious that could potentially harm the company, such as fraud or gross negligence. Acts of gross misconduct allow the employer to terminate a contract without a warning. All other acts of poor conduct need to go through the standard process, allowing the employee an opportunity to improve.
2. Performance
If an employee is taken on for a specific role and proves not to be capable or fails to reach the required performance level, then they can be terminated and it will be considered fair.
However, employers should note there are a variety of effective ways to deal with performance issues that don’t involve the disciplinary process. For dismissal under poor performance to be fair the due process needs to have been followed.
3. Redundancy
As markets change and business needs change it is possible that specific jobs or even sections of a business may be forced to cease operating. If the job is no longer available then a company can make an employee redundant.
But, the selection process must be fair and the job must be eliminated.
4. Legal issues
If continuing to employ a specific person would be in breach of the law then it is fair to terminate the employee. For example, if the employee is an immigrant on a work visa and the visa expires, the employer will be breaking the law if they continue to employ them. In this instance, they have no choice but to terminate the contract.
5. Another Reason
This is the vaguest of the fair reasons to dismiss but it acknowledges that not every scenario can be encompassed with the above reasons.
The issue must be significantly serious that not terminating the contract would cause issues for the business. For example, a top client insists an employee is fired or they will take their business elsewhere.
But, in all situations, a fair process must be followed for dismissal to be fair.