Your employer can’t just accuse you of doing something wrong and then fire you. They have to investigate any complaint or allegation made against you, and then have a disciplinary hearing if there’s evidence against you.
And, in most cases, even if they find you guilty they can’t just jump to dismissal. Generally speaking, employers are required to use progressive discipline- which means starting with the least severe punishment (e.g. a verbal warning) and only giving you more serious punishments if there are further instances of misconduct. The exception is if the misconduct is so serious that dismissal is the only reasonable option (e.g. when an employee is guilty of theft).
Whether you’re accused of sleeping on the job, fighting with a co-worker, leaving the premises without permission or making a costly error at work, your employer has to take the proper steps before he/she can discipline you.
These are the 3 steps that your employer must take before disciplining you:
Step 1- Investigation
If there has been a complaint or accusation that you have breached a company policy or behaved poorly in some way, the company must have an investigation. You must be informed of the details of the complaint, and then the company must meet with you and any witnesses to gather as much information as possible. If there is evidence that you may have committed an act of misconduct, then the matter has to go to a disciplinary hearing.
Step 2- Disciplinary Hearing
The company has to bring disciplinary charges against you. The company must inform you of all the disciplinary charges that you have been accused of, provide all the evidence gathered during the investigation and set a date for the hearing. At the disciplinary hearing, you must be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations, bring witnesses of your own, cross-examine any witnesses against you and (ideally) have a representative who can argue on your behalf. If you are found guilty after the hearing, then the matter goes to the punishment stage.
Step 3- Punishment
Being found guilty of a disciplinary charge should not automatically result in being fired. The company must consider how serious the misconduct was, how long you have worked at the company and if there were previous instances of misconduct, among other things. After considering all the relevant factors, the company should impose a fair and reasonable punishment. As stated above, progressive discipline should be used, and dismissal should only be for repeat offenders or for the most serious offences.
If you are fired without a proper investigation or disciplinary hearing taking place, or if your employer didn't use progressive discipline, your dismissal may have been unfair and you may be entitled to compensation or even to get your job back.
It is advisable to seek advice or representation if you are facing disciplinary proceedings, ideally from as early as the investigation stage. And you should definitely seek advice if you have been dismissed for alleged misconduct and you think the dismissal may have been unfair.
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