Can I Fire an Employee Without a Warning for Being Chronically Late and Absent?

Hi! My boss wants me to terminate one of the staff members. She's problematic, always comes late, and takes many emergency leaves (EL) and medical certificates (MC). However, I have never sent her any warning letter before. Can I just send her a termination letter?

Steps to Follow the Principles of Natural Justice

You have to follow the "Principles of Natural Justice" by adhering to these steps:

1. Show Cause Letter/Charge Sheet
2. If she accepts the guilt, then issue a Warning Letter.
3. If she continues the same misconduct, issue another Warning Letter clearly mentioning that "if you continue to repeat such or similar kinds of misconduct, your services shall be liable to terminate with immediate effect."
4. If she repeats the misconduct again, you can terminate her services with a Termination Letter, giving reference to all issued letters.

Regards,
Bhaskar Dharival

Addressing Habitual Late Coming

For habitual late coming (make sure from her attendance records it is habitual), you can issue her a letter, beginning with a few advisory notes and get her to sign the duplicate copy of the same in token of her receipt and acceptance of the same.

If this continues, you could then issue her a Charge Sheet calling upon her to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against her for her habitual disorderly conduct. This is a legalistic approach.

Alternative Approach: Counseling

You may try another route. Take her into confidence and counsel her to mend her ways and become an orderly and more productive employee. This will give you greater satisfaction of having successfully caused an attitudinal turnaround in an employee.

Regarding Sanctioned Leave

As far as her having taken "so many EL & MC," well, these being sanctioned leave, you cannot treat this also as an act of misconduct attracting disciplinary action.

Best Wishes,

Vasant Nair

You have not mentioned whether the employee is a confirmed one or on a probation period. In the latter case, it is very simple to terminate her service. Just give her a termination letter stating that her services are terminated. If the employee is confirmed, then it is better to adhere to the principles of Natural Justice.

Again, please review her appointment letter to see if it includes a clause regarding the notice period to be given by either the employee or the employer. If the clause is present, simply provide her with a termination letter along with the notice pay.

Always remember that the termination of an employee's services can have a lasting impact on both the employee and the employer. It is advisable to have a discussion with the employee to understand the exact reasons. If the top management has already decided to terminate her, then proceed accordingly.

Regards,
Avinash K.

Although Bhaskar, Vasant, and Avinash have covered most of the points and they are absolutely right, I would just like to add a pointer: An employee is dependent on his/her job and salary remuneration to maintain his/her life. Thus, unless he/she is absolutely casual or doesn't care about money (which is rare), there will always be a genuine reason behind their consistent late coming.

So even if you wish to terminate her, please make the process a non-painful one by counseling him/her and explaining the reasons for termination in detail. Do not just say, "What to do! The Management has asked me to terminate." As an HR professional, you need to take responsibility for termination.

And if you feel he/she can improve, then convince the Management to give him/her just a warning letter with an observation period of 30-60 days. That way, at least you will be guilt-free, as terminating an employee can be very stressful for an HR.

All The Best.

Regards,
Dr. Mazhar Khan GM - Human Resource.

I strongly agree with Mr. Khan. Terminating an employee from the organization is not an easy task, especially if he/she is confirmed or part of the labor class. Follow the proper process; otherwise, you may fall into complications with the labor department. Employees are assets to the organization, and they are human beings; termination should be the last resort as it would heavily impact the preparation of MIS. HR needs to take the initiative to motivate employees for better productivity. We can avoid such circumstances through proper planning and implementation.

Hope you understand.

Regards,
Shaikh

What do you mean by 'took so many of EL & MC'? Are these leaves sanctioned and approved by her superior? In case these leaves are sanctioned and approved, then there is no case of misconduct, and her boss cannot complain about the same.

In case her boss feels that she is taking too many leaves, it is he who is to be blamed for allowing her to take leave. If the boss becomes proactive and assertive and refuses to sanction leave or treats her as absent for leave availed without prior sanction, she will surely curtail her leaves. Moreover, you can take disciplinary action for unauthorized absence.

Step-by-Step Process for Handling Employee Misconduct

Go step by step. Create all the documents perfectly. Start by issuing a Show Cause Notice and ask for a reply. If a reply is not received, serve one more letter stating, "You have not responded to the Show Cause Notice, or your reply to the Show Cause Notice is not satisfactory to the management. We have ordered a board to investigate the circumstances under which you are consistently arriving late to the office. You are required to appear before the board daily until the board's proceedings are completed."

Then gather additional evidence against the defaulter so that they are left with no other option but to resign. Following that, you can proceed to terminate their employment or instruct them to submit a resignation letter and resign.

With warm regards,

Regards,
S. Bhaskar
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Steps to Address Employee Performance Issues

No, don't just terminate her. Take the following steps:

1. Discuss with her, telling her the weaknesses the organization has noticed and the consequences of her behavior. If no changes are seen,

2. Send a warning letter reminding her of the discussion you had and the consequences of not making changes. If no changes are seen,

3. Terminate her.