In our field, we encounter many low-income earners who face difficulties as a result of being let go for discrimination reasons. It is never highlighted, but their dismissal can be as a result of sickness, disability or many other factors that prevent the employee from perfecting the work as can be. When these cases are let go, it is very common for employees to file for unfair dismissal as their condition was not taken into account and was not accounted for by the company leading to letting them go.
Employers often find themselves on the wrong end of an unfair dismissal claim when they are in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Many business owners have little knowledge of this statute and do not realize that employees have the right to inquire about their medical leave and or the specific guidelines that are on the books to protect those rights. An employer cannot terminate an employee within 30 days of requesting medical leave or within 90 days of returning from one. Any exception to this rule, the employer is burdened with proving that any action taken against the employee was justified absent medical leave reasons. Although these legal requirements have been around for some time, it is still one of the most common reasons for wrong termination cases.
Though at-will employees can be terminated from their role, employers that violate their own written company policies or give false reasons for termination can be found guilty of unfair dismissal. When a business creates an employment contract, code, or conduct manual, they are bound to follow the rules they establish. If a company states an employee will receive written warnings before termination and they aren’t, the company has unfairly dismissed them. Similarly, many employees claim the reasons for dismissal cited to them were false, creating a potential case of unfair dismissal.
While there are a number of reasons employers cite when dismissing an employee from the office, the one reason that seems quite common is failure to perform. And this is also one of the most common reasons employees file for unfair dismissal. The situation is quite understandable from the standpoint of both parties. While companies work on the foundational requirement that a certain amount of commitment or performance delivery is essential for a worker to be able to hold on to a job, they are also right in dismissing an employee who is repeatedly falling short. On the other hand, employees are often left confused on how their company can peg the onus of below-par performance on them alone, leading them to challenge these grounds for dismissal as unfair.
One common reason for filing a wrongful termination claim is an employer's violation of public policy. In general this applies to employees who believe they were fired for refusing to help their employers break the law. In other cases, a fired employee may have simply objected to unethical business practices. For example, a company accountant might object to being asked to do excessive tax write-offs. Employers may opt to behave unethically. The law however, protects employees should they be forced to make a choice between participating in unethical behavior or risk losing their jobs.
Retaliation against workers who file Fair Labor Standards Act violations is common, even though it’s legally prohibited. One example is in 2006, when an employee of a plastics manufacturer was fired from his job because he complained about the location of time clocks. Those clocks, according to the employee, were strategically placed far away from the area where workers put on their protective goggles and other gear. It was done to keep them from putting on their gear while on the clock. Workers were forced to punch in after spending several minutes per day preparing for work. The employee was fired and he filed suit against the company – and it was a case that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court ruled 6-2 in the plaintiff’s favor.
An employee cannot be dismissed for exercising their right to apply for paternity, maternity, or adoption leave. Employees are entitled to up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave if they are going to have a baby or adopt a child. Additionally, if available, employees have the right to paid parental leave as described in the conditions of the policies set by their employers. Termination for exercising this right is grounds for unfair dismissal.
The most common reason employees file for unfair dismissal, when it comes down to it, is lack of communication from the employer. Yes, there are legal causes of action that former employees bring alleging discrimination or retaliation, which certainly happens in some workplaces. At the heart of a lot of the disputes that arise, however, is this notion that the employer never told the employee their performance or interpersonal skills wasn’t up to par. When an employer fails to communicate with their employees regularly, then many employees feel blindsided and consider litigation.
The most common reason employees file for unfair dismissal is when their employer has breached their contract of employment. Employees may also feel that they have been unfairly dismissed if they feel that their employer has acted in a way that is inconsistent with their responsibilities as outlined in the contract.
Co-Founder & CEO at Hoist
Answered 4 years ago
Employees can file for termination without cause, which entitles them to severance pay. The biggest issue with termination without cause is that employers haven’t given their employees reasonable notice of their termination–while employers typically hold most of the leverage whether or not they fire their employees, they have to be reasonable with the amount of forewarning they provide. Employers unwilling to provide reasonable notice and severance pay are likely to receive unfair dismissal filings as a result.
The reasons employees file for unfair dismissal are many and varied. However, some of the most common causes include: • Discrimination – if employees feel discriminated against based on their age, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation; • Family or personal reasons – if employees feel unfairly dismissed because of family or personal reasons, such as taking time off to care for a sick family member • Poor treatment – if employees feel mistreated, such as being given unrealistic workloads or being belittled or humiliated by their boss • Retaliation – employees feel unfairly dismissed because they have complained about discrimination, sexual harassment, or other illegal or unethical behavior in the workplace • Unfair work practices – employees feel they have been unfairly dismissed because of changes to their work hours, duties, or pay, or because their employer has introduced new workplace policies that disadvantage them.
If the employee has a background in some other country or continent and is working somewhere else, understanding the language and accent can be a great problem. And while they might feel separated from others, others also might feel the same towards them. This is one of the most underrated reasons why employees get removed from the organization as the organization has a hard time understanding them and communication becomes a problem which no company would want. This doesn't only lead to slow work but can also become a way of miscommunication. And if the employees understand the opposite of what you said, it can lead to disastrous results and loss for the company. The reason why you'll see discrimination against people of other counties and organizations preferring employees from their own country. They don't want their company to go into loss. But at the same time employees see it as unfair dismissal.
To start with, employers use this to dismiss an employee without cause; they would have been specific with the main reason for the dismissal. Even though there was something wrong or the employee made a mistake, many misconducts are minor issues, and man is to error. These are things that can be fixed by just taking or finning the employee. Repetition of the same misconduct might call for something else, but a first-time offense is not a reason to fire a person.
With an aging workforce and the Baby Boomer generation working long-past standard retirement years, age discrimination and unfair dismissal happen all too often. Terminating employees over 40 to make space for younger teammates is inappropriate and unfair, but some employers are desperate to retain top young talent. Age discrimination-related unfair dismissal can be hard to spot sometimes, as if an older employee isn’t meeting their role’s standards or performance goals, the termination may be valid.
The most common reason employees file for unfair dismissal is for being fired without just cause. Just cause typically requires that an employee be disciplined for violating company policy. If an employee is fired without just cause, it is likely that they are eligible for compensation through an unfair dismissal claim.
Many employees don't properly read their terms of service work contract and often have limited knowledge of the employer's rules, disciplinary codes, policies, and procedures of misconduct that can lead to dismissal. They often file for unfair dismissal whilst being ignorant that they have actually breached the contract that they signed.
One of the most common reasons an employee would file for unfair dismissal is miscommunication. For example, say an employee gets in a car crash and cannot inform anyone at work about their situation. After so many days, an employer might fire them for not reporting to work. The employee would then feel compelled to file for unfair dismissal to get their job back.
Some employers are toxic and have formed toxic environments in their workplaces. With this fact, they are not fit to competently manage their businesses, leading to them making poor decisions and dismissing employees unfairly. Poor employer management has made it a prevalent reason for employees who feel like their dismissal is rooted in poor decision-making by an HR manager or an employer.
An employee who has been dismissed as punishment for making a complaint may have good grounds for filing for unfair dismissal. Employees can find themselves in this predicament after coming forward to report an issue such as harassment, safety breaches, or non-payment of overtime. This can also apply when an employee becomes a whistleblower by reporting illegal conduct at work such as lying to shareholders, producing dangerous products, or tax fraud. There are laws protecting employees from retaliation, but these vary from state to state, and having a lawyer to advise and provide legal representation is recommended. An employee who makes a successful retaliation claim will receive a combination of back pay, incidental expenses, and legal costs from their former employer.
Poorly explained termination is a major reason employees may file for unfair dismissal. Termination isn't pleasant for any parties involved but it's important that employers and employees communicate properly about the issue. Often employers try to stay as impersonal as possible. That need to be impersonal can sometimes come off as dismissive or unwilling to explain the reasons for a termination, for fear of escalating a tense situation. employers must be willing to clearly and concisely explain the reasons behind a dismissal, in terms that are easily understandable by all involved. This can avoid feelings that there may be hidden reasoning for the termination that isn't being spoken of.