Navigating Employee Termination: Is One Show Cause Notice Enough or Is More Needed?

I want to know, can we terminate any employee just after only one show cause/charge sheet, to whom we actually want to terminate? He filed a reply to the show cause. Is it necessary to give him another notice under natural justice, or can we issue him a termination letter based on the unsatisfactory reply?

In how many days can we issue him a termination letter or a second notice? Is there any way to issue a second notice when all the allegations have already been mentioned in the first notice?

Kindly send me your valuable advice.

Thanks.

Termination on the ground of misconduct is an extreme punishment that could be given to an erring employee. Firstly, whether it should be preceded by a lenient punishment or warning is dependent on the gravity of the charges leveled against the employee.

Secondly, if the employee refutes the charges leveled, it is not necessary to issue him another show cause notice. Just inform him that since the reply received from him is not acceptable, it is decided to conduct a domestic enquiry and intimate who is appointed as the enquiry officer. If the employee happens to be a 'workman' under the ID Act, 1947, you cannot straight away terminate him without holding a domestic enquiry according to the principles of natural justice. Even in the case of a superior cadre of employees, an enquiry is desirable.

A second show cause notice is to be issued about the proposed punishment of dismissal only after the enquiry is over.