Section 55Part 8 — DISMISSALS
Fairness and unfairness of dismissal
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Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a dismissal is fair if the employer acted reasonably in the circumstances and, in addition, the reason assigned by the employer for the dismissal is —
in accordance with this Law;
that the employee was made redundant;
that the employee could not continue to work in the position he held without contravention of a requirement of this or any other law; or
some other substantial reason of a kind which would entitle a reasonable employer to dismiss him.
Where an employee is dismissed, he shall, in addition to any remuneration and severance pay that may be due, be paid for earned vacation leave and any other benefits accrued at the time of termination, and the wage rate for the payment of such benefits shall be the same as the wage rate determined for his severance pay.
A dismissal is unfair where the reason for the dismissal was that the employee was made redundant but it is shown that the circumstances constituting the redundancy did not apply equally to one or more other employees in the same undertaking, who were employed to perform the same kind of work and who were not dismissed by the employer, and
the employee made redundant was chosen based on any form of discrimination as defined in this Law or the Constitution; or
that the redundant employee was selected for dismissal in contravention of a customary arrangement or agreed procedure relating to redundancy and there were no special reasons justifying a departure from that arrangement or procedure in his case.
Where the employee is found to have been constructively dismissed, then the dismissal is unfair.
The question whether an employer has acted reasonably for the purposes of this Part shall be determined in accordance with equity and the substantive merits of the case having regard to all the circumstances.
Defined Terms
fair dismissalredundancydiscriminationconstructive dismissalreasonableness
Cross References
- Section of Employment Act
the Constitution