Your employer can’t fire you unless he has a good reason and has followed the proper process. And this applies even if you have a written employment contract that says your employer has the “right” to terminate the contract without a reason.
Many employment contracts have a clause that “gives” an employer the power to terminate the contract once he notifies the employee in advance (there’s usually a 1 month notice period that’s required).
But even if your contract has that clause, if your employer fires you without a good reason and without following the proper procedure, your dismissal may be unfair.
In addition to not being allowed to dismiss a worker for no reason, an employer cannot dismiss a worker for any of these reasons:
being a union member/workers' representative;
filing a complaint/bringing a case against the employer;
being absent on maternity leave;
being temporarily absent from work because of illness or injury; or
any reason connected to race, colour, sex, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, nationality or social origin.
'Good reasons' for dismissal (or for ending the employment relationship) include:
Being found guilty of gross misconduct or repeatedly being found guilty of misconduct;
Consistently performing poorly;
Being absent from work for a long time because of illness/injury;
Being persistently absent from work because of illness or some other reason;
Redundancy/Retrenchment;
Job Abandonment; or
Mutually agreed separation/severance
For each of these reasons, there’s a specific process to be followed (and if the process isn’t followed, that dismissal may be unfair!)
It is also unfair for your employer to dismiss you without clearly informing you of the reasons for your dismissal.
Therefore, if your employer fires you:
without any reason or without a good reason (whether he gives you notice or not);
without clearly informing you of the reason for dismissal; or
without following the proper procedure
Your dismissal may be unfair (regardless of what your contract says) and you may be entitled to compensation or even to get your job back.
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