What are the fair grounds for dismissal?

In order to bring an employee through a disciplinary process, the incident must first be investigated. Recent case law has suggested that every incident should be investigated before proceeding to possible disciplinary action. For that reason, you should have a Company Handbook in place which outlines these procedures. As well as making the employee aware of its existence.

Fair grounds for dismissal are; Capability, Competence, and Conduct.

• Capability: refers to an employee’s inability to fulfil the terms of their contract of employment. Tardiness and absenteeism fall under ‘capability.’
• Competence: refers to an employee’s ability to do their job. Is the employee competent to do the job?
• Conduct: refers to misconduct – continuous breaches of rules and policies as outlined in the Company Handbook.

Fair Procedures

An unfair dismissal is only unfair if the Employer cannot show substantial grounds to justify their reasoning. Employees win unfair dismissals cases in Ireland because Employers fail to follow the principles of Natural Justice, Due Process and Fair Procedures. We are here to guide you when dealing with terminations of employment.

It is crucial that Employers follow their own disciplinary procedures as outlined in the Company Handbook. Moreover, they should inform employees of the possible outcomes of the disciplinary process.

Employers should:

· Apply the principles of ‘Natural Justice, Due Process and Fair Procedures’ – the principles of ‘Natural Justice’ include the following:

• The right to be informed of the allegations at hand
• The right to respond to these allegations
• The right to representation
• The right to a fair and appropriate determination of the allegations, and
• The right to appeal the determination

· Issue employees with the appropriate warnings

· Exhaust their disciplinary procedure before proceeding with termination

· Clarify the allegations for the employee from the outset

· Provide the employee with the appropriate time to improve their behaviour/conduct before taking permanent action

The above is a synopsis of the disciplinary process. Learn more about constructive and unfair dismissal. Our HR Advisors can help you with your HR functions. Arrange a consultation with us.