7 facts every HR manager should know about wrongful discharge March 23, 2018

7 facts every HR manager should know about wrongful discharge

What is wrongful discharge?

A wrongful discharge is when an employee is in a situation in which their contract of employment has been terminated by the employer. The termination usually breaches either one or more terms of the contract of employment.

The laws which govern the dismissal can vary depending on the type of employment contract you possess. There are other discharges such as constructive dismissal which is when an employee feels like they have no choice but to resign from their employment because of their violated rights.

Different forms of wrongful discharge

An employer cannot terminate an employment contract because of the employee's nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation.
An employer isn't able to discharge an employee if they have brought allegations to the company.
An employee can’t be fired for not following instructions to commit an act that is against the law.

Here are 7 facts HR managers should know about wrongful discharge:

The employee and employer relationship is usually a relationship that can be terminated with a notice period but it is illegal if the termination of an employee is against the contract.

Discrimination laws protect employees from being discharged based on race, nationality, sex, religion, disability, pregnancy and age. A HR manager can face prosecution if they discriminate an employee.

The HR team have attended HR management courses, these human resources courses give you an insight into the different employment laws and how to protect your company and staff that work there.

If an employee has requested time off and it has been approved by the manager, they are eligible to take that time off. If they are persecuted for this, they can bring a claim to the company as they would have been unlawfully discharged.

As mentioned in all HR courses, the employer needs to follow through with a specific disciplinary and termination policy that are in place. The employee will need two written warnings and a written disciplinary letter. Only after this will they are able to end the contract employment.

The human resource team is responsible to find out why the employee has been terminated, if this was because they were told to do something illegal that they refused to do they will be able to sue the company.

When an employee is dismissed from employment they should be suspended with full pay until the disciplinary has taken place. It is their right to get any pay that is owed to them.

Thinking about joining the HR department? Read more about the human resources courses we have at London TFE.