There are always those employees who act like they are irreplaceable at the workplace. Coming into work late, leaving early, failing to meet deadlines and worst of all, being rude to fellow colleagues. Employers are often tempted to fire such individuals but are significantly uninformed about what the law states.
So when exactly are you allowed to sack an employee who is behaving inappropriately? Dismissals without notice (or summary dismissals) are occasionally acceptable by law when acts of gross misconduct are committed by an employee. There are 5 common examples of gross misconduct.
Here are 5 instances of employee misconduct that should be addressed:
- Offensive behavior
When an employee starts acting offensively towards colleagues, it gives you grounds to fire them for gross misconduct. It’s worse when the insolence is channeled towards a customer. Offensive behavior involves acts like fighting, harassment, bullying, dangerous horseplay, threats of violence and intimidating behavior. Such behavior has the potential to adversely impact the health, performance and general morale of employees. If left unchecked, it could quickly spread around. After all, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.
- Fraud, theft and dishonesty
Employees who start stealing personal stuff from colleagues are liable for gross misconduct. It’s also wrong for workers to falsify time-recording forms & accounts, disclose commercial data or steal company equipment. Here are other areas covered under this umbrella:
- Obtaining company data unlawfully
- Making fraudulent overtime claims or expenses
- Using company data fraudulently
Not only can such acts of gross misconduct ruin relationships between loyal clients, it could also cause employees to incur huge costs.
- Breaching the laid-down health and safety rules
Every company has a particular set of rules concerning the health and safety of employees. Needless to say, all personnel are required to adhere to these rules. There are certain instances where employees completely disregard safety regulations, risking their own lives as well as the lives of colleagues. Operating machinery without using the machine guard is an exquisite example. Others include:
- Removing protective gear while working
- Failing to wear protective equipment when coming to work
- Driving while drunk on the work site
- Damage to property
An employee who willfully or deliberately damages property can be dismissed without notice due to gross misconduct. This includes scenarios where an individual commits acts of vandalism on company property. Cases where an employee’s gross negligence results in damage to property can also give grounds for summary dismissal.
- Serious misconduct or incapacity due to excessive use of drugs or alcohol at work
There are some employees who always come to work totally inebriated. Addiction to drugs and alcohol is a serious condition that needs to be nipped in the bud. Employers should never condone drunkenness among employees at work. It leads to reduced productivity, more absences and increased risks to employee safety. Possession of drugs, selling and buying drugs at the employer’s turf is also part of gross misconduct and should be dealt accordingly.
