Q: Can I terminate an employee if I am restructuring or downsizing?
Q: Can I terminate an employee if he or she abuses alcohol at a workplace?
Q: Can I terminate an employee because I want to?
Answer: “IT DEPENDS”.
Termination of employment relationship is one of the most challenging stages for both an employer and an employee emotionally and financially and needs to be thought of long before it comes. There are three possible ways to end the employment relationships. The first one is when an employee resigns. In this case the employee has to meet his or her obligations to notify the employer within the time stipulated either by the employment contract or in case the contract is silent,within reasonable time to allow the employer to find a new worker. Another option to terminate is to dismiss an employee for just cause if it is justified. The third venue to go is to dismiss without cause.
Let’s take a closer look at each of them separately. read more
A GOOD REASON IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR JUST CAUSE.
What is good enough is decided by the courts on the case-by-case basis using contextual approach in the given circumstances . Most of those alleged acts must be repetitious in order to constitute just cause.
The courts set up a very high standard for an employer to justify just cause.
Below are the examples of the grounds that can warrant just cause and justify termination without notice :
1. Theft, forgery of the documents
2. Insubordination
3. Misconduct related to the performance of a job
In the decision-making process analyzing the misconduct and determining whether the cause exists, the courts are not only concerned about the harm done in the past, but rather the probability of the same or similar behavior of the employee in the future.
Contextual approach, employment history , frequency of misconduct, reasons, sequence of events, real harm inflicted by the employer, steps taken by the employer before and after the act(s) of misconduct, application of progressive discipline towards the employee and other circumstances are analyzed and taken into consideration by the courts while making the findings of cause.