Summary Dismissal of Employment

Summary Dismissal of Employment means the employee's contract is terminated immediately without notice or pay in lieu of notice based on an act of gross misconduct or breach of contract. Such kind of rejection, as a rule, is a very serious offense, for example, theft, fraud, violence, or great carelessness. It has other names as instant dismissal or summary termination.

With the examples where dismissal cases are concerned, the employers are supposed to supply sufficient evidence of the employee's misconduct or breach of contract to prove that the immediate termination without notice or severance pay was justified. Such evidence may include eyewitness accounts, written reports of policy violation or evidence of criminal behavior.

Example of Summary Dismissal of Employment

Let's assume that in a store, an employee is caught red-handed taking money from the cash register. Although the employee had served for many years and had never been in trouble before, the theft was a very serious breach of trust and company rules. The company can invoke the summary dismissal in that case, which means to terminate the employee without giving any notice or compensation.

The employer becomes aware of the theft and starts an investigation, looks for evidence, and holds a disciplinary hearing, so the employee can clarify their actions. Nevertheless, bearing in mind the heinousness of the misconduct and the need to preserve the value of work in the organization, the employer opts for summary dismissal. The employee is taken off premises and their access to company resources is terminated immediately.

Summary Dismissal of Employment is indeed a harsh measure that, however, guards the interests of the employer and prescribes the required standards of behavior within the organization. While employers must be fair and follow due process in terminating employees without just cause, they should be aware of the legal consequences and the impact on their reputation of wrongfully terminating an employee.