Dismissal Disputes - Grounds, Procedure, and What the Court Chooses: Reinstatement or Money
The Labour Code sets an exhaustive list of grounds for dismissal, and that list is a frame for the employer and a shield for the employee: a reason outside it ("we no longer need you", "it did not work out", "the director decided") makes the dismissal automatically unlawful. But naming the right ground is not enough either; it must be proved, and the procedure must have been followed.
This page is about the legal substance of a dismissal dispute: what each ground demands of the employer, how the court tests an economic redundancy and "incompatibility with the position", when an employee seeks reinstatement and when compensation, and how a lawyer builds a termination for an employer that will survive court. The steps of the first 30 days after dismissal are in a separate guide.
Updated · Practice area: Employment lawyer
Termination Grounds Under the Code and What the Employer Must Prove for Each
Each ground has its own standard of proof and procedure. The lawyer tests the ground named in the dismissal order against exactly that standard.
Anatomy of a Dismissal Dispute - From the Order to the Judgment
Checking the order against the ground
Is the ground named in the order on the Code's list? Was the written justification requested and received? Does the real reason match the order? The lawyer often finds the core of the case right here: an "economic" redundancy where a vacancy was posted the same week, or a "gross breach" that happened three months ago and nobody noticed at the time.
Checking the procedure
The notice period and form, payment of compensation, final settlement within 7 days, the disciplinary procedure required by the internal rules, a request for the employee's explanation. A procedural breach is an independent ground for voiding the dismissal, even when the reason was real.
Checking protected status
Pregnancy, parental leave, military service, trade union leadership, the period after a discrimination complaint: these statuses prohibit dismissal on certain grounds or create a presumption that the dismissal was because of the status.
Remedy strategy: reinstatement or compensation
For an unlawful dismissal the court reinstates the employee and orders the employer to pay for the period of forced absence, or, where reinstatement is impossible, sets compensation. The lawyer decides with the client what the real goal is (the job, the money, or leverage for negotiation) and shapes the claim accordingly.
Negotiating with the employer
At the justification-request and demand stage employers often choose to negotiate: a court reinstatement means paying for forced absence for the whole length of the proceedings. The lawyer documents the agreement so that the sum, the employment record entry and the reference are in one document.
Filing within one month
The deadline for challenging a dismissal is 30 calendar days from service of the order or receipt of the justification, with no court fee. The claim covers voidance, reinstatement, forced-absence pay, unused leave and, where founded, discrimination damages, all together.
You Need to Dismiss an Employee - How to Do It So the Court Does Not Reverse It
For an employer the price of an unlawful dismissal is not only compensation: court-ordered reinstatement means paying for forced absence for the whole length of the proceedings (often 1-2 years), returning the employee to a team where their place is already taken, and frequently having to dismiss a second time. A correct procedure before dismissal is far cheaper than a defence after it.
The lawyer helps the employer with three things. First, choosing the right ground: a genuine economic redundancy needs its own documents (an order on structural change, a comparison of staffing tables, financial indicators), while a disciplinary dismissal needs the breach recorded, an explanation requested, consistency with the internal rules and timeliness. Second, a procedural calendar: who notifies whom, when and in what form, from which date service is counted, when compensation and the final settlement are paid.
Third, termination by agreement where possible: on fair terms and with voluntariness documented (time to consider, the chance to consult a lawyer). An "agreement" obtained under pressure is voided in court and leaves the employer worse off than a straightforward dismissal would have.
Mass Redundancy - Additional Rules That Do Not Apply to Individual Dismissals
- Threshold
- A redundancy is collective when an employer with more than 100 employees dismisses at least 20 on economic grounds within 15 days (or an employer with more than 50, proportionally).
- Notice to the ministry and employees
- Written notice at least 45 days in advance to the labour ministry and to the affected employees, stating the reasons, numbers and selection criteria. Redundancy without this notice is procedurally unlawful.
- Selection criteria
- Who goes and who stays must be decided by objective, predefined and equally applied criteria. Selection without criteria opens the door to a discrimination claim.
- Consultation with the trade union
- Where a union exists, consultation on alternatives and on softening the consequences. A formal obligation whose documentation protects the employer.
- Individual rights remain
- The collective procedure does not replace individual notice, compensation or the right to challenge; every employee challenges their own dismissal separately.
What the Lawyer Needs in a Dismissal Dispute - For Either Side
- The employment contract, annexes, internal rules and job description: what the obligation was that is said to have been breached.
- The dismissal order with the date of service and the employer's written justification (or the request and the absence of a reply).
- Earlier disciplinary sanctions, appraisals, bonuses, promotions: the counter-picture to "incompatibility" or "breach".
- Staffing tables before and after the dismissal, and job adverts for the same position, to test the economic ground.
- Correspondence with management in the period before dismissal: signs of motive, pressure or discrimination.
- A salary certificate for 12 months and the final settlement document, to calculate forced-absence pay and compensation.
Three Dismissal Disputes
"Redundancy" and a new vacancy
A marketing manager was dismissed on economic grounds; two weeks later the company advertised a "digital marketing manager" vacancy. Lawyer: the position was in fact retained, comparison of staffing tables, a screenshot of the advert. The court voided the dismissal; instead of reinstatement the parties settled for a sum equal to 8 months' forced-absence pay.
Gross breach without a sanction
An employee was dismissed for "gross breach" without compensation, over one late report. Lawyer: the gravity did not match, the internal rules provided a warning as the sanction, no explanation had been requested. Reinstatement and 11 months' forced-absence pay.
Employer: a redundancy done properly
A company closed a branch and had to dismiss 12 employees. Lawyer: an order on reorganisation, a written offer of transfer to another branch, 30 days' notice, compensation and settlement on time, minutes on the selection criteria. Two claims were filed; both were dismissed.
Questions About Dismissal Disputes
I was dismissed during probation without a reason. Can I challenge it?
During probation the employer may terminate at any time without justification or compensation, provided the probation was agreed in writing and does not exceed 6 months. An orally "agreed" probation does not exist, and then the ordinary rules apply. A discriminatory motive can be challenged even during probation.
I want reinstatement, but the employer says the position no longer exists.
Abolition of the position does not rule out reinstatement: the court orders reinstatement to an equivalent position or, where impossible, compensation on top of forced-absence pay. If the position was "abolished" but its functions were handed to someone else, that is itself an argument for voiding the dismissal.
I was never served an order; they simply stopped letting me into work.
De facto dismissal without an order is the grossest procedural breach. Request the order and justification in writing, record the refusal of access (messages, witnesses), and the 30-day period runs from that moment. Salary for that period is owed to you in full.
I am an employer. The employee simply does not perform, but I cannot show a "breach".
That is a case for the incompatibility ground, which requires a process: written goals and criteria, an assessment period, a documented result, an opportunity to improve, then notice and compensation. A lawyer sets this process up over 2-3 months, far faster than a lost lawsuit.
I challenged the dismissal and won. Who pays the legal costs?
A labour claim is exempt from the court fee; reasonable lawyer's fees are borne by the losing party. Forced-absence pay runs until the judgment takes effect and, if the employer delays reinstatement, beyond it. The enforcement bureau enforces a reinstatement order compulsorily.
Lawyers for Dismissal Disputes
The 30-day deadline is the main rule of a dismissal dispute and analysing the ground is the main skill. Within 15 minutes the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who regularly handles labour cases on the employee's or the employer's side.
No published lawyers in this category yet
That does not mean we cannot help. Call us - we will match you with a specialist for a remote consultation or from a nearby city.
Call: 568 330 318Other Labour Law Services
Dismissed, or Having to Dismiss an Employee?
In a free consultation the lawyer assesses whether the ground meets the Code's standard, what deadline you have and what the realistic outcome is: reinstatement, compensation or agreement - the coordinator phones you back within 15 minutes.