Have You Been Dismissed? Seek Legal Guidance from Our Labour Lawyers!
If you work in Midrand and have not been fairly compensated by the employer, have been unfairly treated, or have been dismissed, you will be glad to know that our labour lawyers in Midrand can assist in taking the necessary legal steps against the employer.
Did the employer in Midrand retrench you according to the correct procedures and reasons for doing so? Did your employer fire you because you were pregnant or perhaps late for work on several occasions due to transportation problems experienced in Midrand? Have you been fired for not being willing to do the work of a colleague who is participating in a legal strike?
In any of these cases, you will benefit from the legal guidance and assistance that our attorneys can offer. Our labour law services extend beyond Midrand to other cities in Gauteng.
We briefly discuss aspects of dismissals below, thereby helping you to identify instances of unfair practice against you, as our labour lawyers can then assist in resolving these types of matters using the correct legal procedure and channels.
Understanding Unfair Dismissal
If you have been dismissed, seek legal guidance from our labour lawyers immediately. If you consented to the dismissal, you have lost your rights to unemployment benefits, since they only apply where you have been dismissed and not where you have resigned voluntarily.
The Labour Relations Act (LRA) lists instances of unfair dismissal. According to the act, dismissal is unfair if an employee is dismissed for:
- Exercising an employee right according to the requirements of the LRA.
- Failing to do the work of fellow employees on strike, where the work has not been essential to preventing harm or endangerment of another employee or person.
- Taking part in a protected strike.
- Not wanting to accept a demand.
- Initiating proceedings against the employer.
- Being pregnant or intending to become pregnant.
- Being from a certain race, ethnic, social, religious, gender, sexual orientation, belief, cultural, or language group.
- Being disabled.
- Being married, divorced, or not married.
- Having a specific family responsibility.
Dismissal because of age, unless you have reached retirement age, is also considered unfair dismissal.
What If You Were Fired Because of Misconduct?
Even if you have been fired for misconduct, you can still benefit from the legal assistance and guidance that our labour lawyers can provide. Misconduct is when you have directly violated a rule prohibiting a specific action or conduct. The rule must be reasonable and legal. In addition, it must be a rule that the employer can reasonably expect the employees to know.
Even if you have breached the rule, the question remains whether the dismissal was a fair sanction for breaching the particular rule. In addition, the employer must have considered the nature of your job and whether it was the first time that you breached the rule. Have others breached the rule before? Did the employer dismiss them for doing so?
The dismissal, even if for misconduct, could also still have been unfair if the employer failed to follow the correct procedures. Accordingly, a disciplinary hearing must have been held within a reasonable time of the particular incident. The hearing must have been fair and you had to be given the opportunity to defend yourself against the allegations. The employer needed to investigate the facts of the incident and you must have been given sufficient time to prepare for the hearing. Various other requirements must have been met, which are best discussed with our labour lawyers.
Whether you have been dismissed for misconduct, poor performance, or for business restructuring reasons, fair procedure must have been followed. It is, however, imperative to take the necessary legal steps against the employer as soon as possible, if it was an unfair dismissal. To this end, call us on 011 234 2125 for labour law assistance in Midrand.
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You are advised to consult with us before using/relying on this information. The information is relevant to the date of publishing – March 2019.
