Taking away a person’s livelihood should also be a last resort. There will be circumstances where termination of employment is the only recourse. Our advice to Employers is to ‘begin with the end in mind’. What if your decision to terminate someone’s employment is challenged by a Third Party? The starting point under the Unfair Dismissals Act is that the termination of employment was unfair. It is up to the employer to prove otherwise.
Unless and until you can prove, with supporting documents, that you applied your own fair procedure and natural justice, the dismissal will be held to be unlawful. The remedy can be one of re-instatement, re-engagement or compensation (with a maximum of 24-months pay). The legal cost to defend a claim for Unfair Dismissals is normally at €5,000.
It is important to understand that Redundancy is also the termination of employment and unless and until you consult with affected staff and together consider possible alternatives to redundancy, the process will be judged to be unfair. A rule of thumb is that it is the position that is redundant and not the person.
Call one of our Advisors at Boyd HR on 074 9123150 to ensure that your Corrective Action (Disciplinary Procedure) is ‘fit for purpose’ and that you minimise/eliminate the risk of not following your own procedures and applying the laws of natural justice.