Continued misconduct of an employee - Can we terminate the employee or what will be the procedure?

I need advice regarding the continued misconduct of an employee who has apologized three times in the past 2 years. Should we proceed with terminating the employee, and if so, what would be the appropriate procedure to follow?

Regards, Manish

Please consider the below-mentioned things before terminating an employee:

1. What kind of gross misconduct was she involved in?
2. Was an apology letter received for the same mistakes that were repeated?
3. Are all disciplinary actions recorded?
4. What does your company policy say about terminating an employee?
5. Terms and conditions stated in her appointment order.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Sudha

Dear Colleague, legally and morally, you cannot terminate an employee based on the apology letters given. Termination is a capital punishment to an employee, which has to be exercised only if there is a prima facie case and evident misconduct involving moral turpitude, serious gaps in performance, unethical conduct, etc., as per your Service Rules or Standing Orders.

Considerations Before Termination

- All reasonable opportunities are to be given to the employee to defend and explain his or her side of the explanation.
- A proper domestic enquiry has to be conducted as per the Principle of Natural Justice.

Think several times before such drastic action, and only when there is serious misconduct, then after giving all opportunities, only decide on such action if merit and justification are there.

If an employee has committed misconduct, especially if it is repeated three times in two years and the misconduct is of a serious nature, then you may use that as a basis for termination. However, you need to conduct a domestic inquiry, and the decision of the inquiry officer must support termination. The employee must be given a chance to appear and defend themselves before you take the final action.