The term termination is very wide in nature and refers to cessation of employment due to any reason. It includes discharge and retrenchment also. It may also include mass retrenchment whereby the entire or majority employees are terminated. Suspension is temporary cessation of employment as part of disciplinary action being taken against an employee. Suspension shall not be taken as a punishment but the employee found guilty of any misconduct is debarred from attending the office for the time being. Once the enquiry is completed, he may be either reinstated after withdrawing the suspension or discharged or dismissed following the findings of the enquiry officer. Discharge reefers to termination of employment. The term is simultaneously used to refer to retrenchment also. Most often, the term is used to denote termination of employment following a misconduct. Dismissal also refers to termination of employment. The basic difference between the two is that discharge is some what sympathetic in nature but dismissal is very severe in nature. An employee discharged will be eligible for gratuity(if he has completed 5 years of service), Provident Fund, last pay and other benefits as per standing orders of the company whereas an employee dismissed from service will not be eligible for any such benefits. Usually, an employee is dismissed only for very severe misconduct. Regards, Madhu.T.K