An employer has the right to dismiss an employee on disciplinary grounds, when the latter commits an infraction considered to be of sufficient seriousness and importance to the company to warrant such an action. Specifically, such a case arises when any of the following conditions are met:
1. Impunctuality or absence from work. In order for these to be a sufficient motives for dismissal, they must be both habitual (or repeated) and unjustified in the sense that there is no moral, social or legal cause which would justify them.
2. Conscious and deliberate disobedience or lack of discipline on the part of the employee. Nevertheless, the worker does have the right to refuse to follow an order which is either illegal or abusive.
3. Verbal or physical abuse directed towards the employer, work colleagues or family members of either
4. Infraction of the contractual good will. This is brought about when the employee is deliberately and consciously disloyal to the employer.
5. An ongoing and deliberate fall in the output or quality of work on the part of the employee.
6. Drunkenness or drug-intoxication. In order for this to be a sufficient motive for dismissal, it must be habitual as well as having a negative effect in the employee's level of work.
In order for the dismissal to be valid, the employee has to be notified in writing normally giving a minimum of 15 days' notice (this does not always apply however e.g. in the case of theft of company property etc.)
In the case in which, on receiving the letter of dismissal, the employee wishes to contest the grounds on which he or she has been dismissed from their job, he or she can file a conciliation suit in an arbitration office. This is a pre-court process which allows both parties to the contract to come to an out-of-court settlement. The role of the civil servant in attendance is merely to reflect in writing the agreement (or lack of such) reached by the parties. Such a suit should be filed within 20 days of receipt of the letter of dismissal.
If arbitration fails to provide a fair result, the employee's only other option is to file a formal legal suit in the labour courts. This can be a long and costly affair for both parties although the court general sides in favour of the employee (in practice it is quite difficult to prove sufficient grounds for disciplinary dismissal).
If it is found that in fact the employer does not have sufficient grounds for such a dismissal, then a compensatory payment will be required to be made to the employee representing 45 days per year worked up to a maximum of 42 months.
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