Understanding Employee Termination: What Legal Steps Must Companies Follow?

Hi all,

If I understand correctly, there are a few legalities a company must perform before it can legally terminate an employee:

a) It must file a charge sheet against the employee;
b) It must form a panel of investigation, and the employee in consideration has a say in the panel formation;
c) It must file the case in a Labour Court.

It is up to the Labour Court whether it decides to terminate or retain the employee, and generally, the decision goes against the company and in favor of the employee.

Is that correct? Are there any other legalities that a company must abide by to ensure that the termination procedure is legal, apart from the above-mentioned three points?

Give your valuable inputs, please.

Regards,
Brandon

Procedure for Termination:

There should be an act of misconduct under applicable standing orders. There should be a charge sheet. Issue Show cause Notice asking for an explanation as to why his service cannot be terminated for the alleged misconduct. If the explanation is not satisfactory, then initiate an inquiry through a neutral body. Based on the inquiry report findings, take appropriate action. Ensure the principle of natural justice prevails. Ensure the notice pay/compensation is paid under Sec. 25 F of ID Act. The employer need not go to court at this stage. It is the delinquent employee who has to prove he has not committed misconduct or the employer's allegation is false, baseless, and with malafide intentions. You may need to produce evidence/counter-evidence in court if required. Also, the past record of the CSE is useful for further corroborating the misconduct. Hope it is clear.

I heard that in some exceptional cases, if any worker commits misconduct and the charges are grave in nature, they may be dismissed without being given any charge sheet or show-cause notice. The dismissal order may justify the action by stating that the individual is threatening the witnesses, therefore, the enquiry proceedings will be conducted in the competent court. Please clarify if anyone has any questions.

Hello,

May I know what should be the duration for an investigation into misconduct? Specifically, what is the maximum number of days within which the investigation must be completed?

Additionally, I have come across information stating that an employee must be given a maximum of 7 days to respond to a notice. Is this still applicable? Moreover, during the investigation, will the employee be denied access to company properties and information?

Thanks in advance :)
Radhika