Handling a Sensitive Situation: Can We Terminate an Employee Who Consumed Poison at Work?

One of our employees consumed poison while on duty, and we admitted him to the hospital. Now, he is okay. My question is, can we terminate him from service? Please suggest an alternative or any other way to handle this situation.

You cannot terminate him without any reason. Though consuming poison and putting you in trouble is a valid reason, before that, you should conduct an inquiry into the incident which led to his consumption of poison. Therefore, immediately upon his resuming work, serve him a show cause notice and ask him to reply. If he has any mental issues, seek advice from a doctor and then act. You can also ask him to undergo treatment by granting a few days' leave. However, terminating him right now is not a solution, and it is inhumane as well.

Dear member,

As Mr. Madhu TK has rightly said, it is important to conduct a domestic inquiry to investigate the incident. The Enquiry Officer (EO) should investigate what kind of poison it was, how he could access it, whether the employee consumed a hazardous substance stored by the company (if yes, then how the employee accessed it), whether the employee brought the poison from outside (if yes, then how did he bring it), etc.

For Mr. Madhu TK: Sir, both of us have recommended that the member conduct a domestic inquiry to investigate the incident. However, there is a ruling by the court stating the company can take action against the employee only if the misconduct is defined in the standing orders. If "attempting to commit suicide while on duty" is not defined as misconduct, then on what grounds can the company initiate disciplinary action? Would you mind explaining it?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Included in the misconducts, normally, there will be a mention, "any act which is detrimental to the operations of the establishment." We can consider these kinds of incidents as misconduct because they will cause damage to the company, mental trauma to the employees of the establishment, or hardship to coworkers.

With his act of consuming poison, some disturbance should have naturally been caused to the operations of the company, right?

If this is not defined in the standing order of the company, then conduct a domestic inquiry and act accordingly. Ensure he is given a chance as per natural justice.

Dear Dinesh, Madhu,

Under Maharashtra Model Standing Orders, Rule 14(3)(g) states that "habitual breach of any law applicable to the establishment" is also considered misconduct. Though the OP does not specify if this was a one-off occurrence, attempting suicide is a violation of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and hence qualifies as misconduct. There are ways to interpret and apply this provision.

The model standing orders do not explicitly mention "any act which is detrimental to the operations of the establishment." Therefore, unless the OP's company has included this in their specific standing orders, it cannot be considered a basis for misconduct.

Nevertheless, thanks to your post, I will now recommend all clients to consider incorporating this provision into their standing orders.

Dear Sir/Madam,

First, try to find out why the employee did that. If it is due to a personal problem, then counsel him and send him to a doctor for counseling. You may need to sanction leave in his favor. If it is due to an issue within the establishment, then take disciplinary action against him promptly and judiciously.

I would like to share an example that occurred in my organization. A new officer joined our organization, displaying rude and rough behavior. An employee from my section attempted to hang himself from the ceiling fan, but his daughter intervened and brought him to the hospital. Fortunately, he recovered after some time. There were rumors that the new officer had severely reprimanded him, leading to the suicide attempt. However, during counseling, it emerged that the new officer had not directly spoken to the employee, but the employee's mother-in-law was causing significant distress. We decided to transfer the employee to a distant location to give him space from his mother-in-law.

Thank you!

We should not terminate without knowing the exact reason. If the issue is due to official reasons, consider changing the department or environment. If it is personal, we can provide counseling, but we cannot be with him all the time. It's better to get a letter from him to be safe from any issues, officially.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have carefully reviewed all the suggestions provided by senior members. The issue of consuming poison while on duty needs to be thoroughly investigated to uncover the truth and gain clarity. It is possible that the consumption was a result of harassment by a co-worker, supervisor, or management. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive inquiry to ensure that any assumptions made are accurate and to uncover any other underlying factors. Assumptions may be wrong, and something else may come out from the inquiry.

So termination is not a solution.

V. D. Patel