Client Query: I understand that in the USA, an employee who is hired “at will” can be dismissed whenever the employer wishes to do so if the term “at will’ appears in the employment contract. Can the ‘at will’ concept apply in Trinidad & Tobago? Consultant’s Response: No. The situation with employment contracts in Trinidad […]
Dear PMSL Our firm used to do a lot of business for the government, but over the last ten months since Government Ministries’ budgets have been cut, we have lost many of our long-term contracts and some of our staff have literally nothing to do. We know we must adjust to the downturn in the […]
Question: What is the reasoning behind the “Last in first out” rule about retrenchment? Answer: It is a “rule of thumb” rather than a legal regulation, and is usually followed by the words: “all things being equal”. The most obvious reason is that companies owe a greater measure of loyalty to longer-serving employees that have […]
Query What does a doctor’s certificate entitle an employee to? Response A doctor’s certificate, by itself, entitles an employee to nothing at all. A doctor does not have the legal authority to decree that an employer grant paid absence to an employee. All a doctor can do is to recommend that an employer allow an […]
April 2017 The Industrial Court Awards in cases of Constructive Dismissal have been much in the news recently since one employee was awarded three million dollars in compensation for having been dismissed using flawed procedures. A judgment from the Industrial Court in Trade Dispute No. 221 of 2003, delivered on September 21, 2005 between SWWTU […]
While the principle that an employer should not be forced to block the efficient management of business by being compelled to retain incompetent employees must be accepted, there should be verifiable evidence of the incompetence. Where the employee is a new recruit, this can be done during the probationary period. With employees of long standing, […]
Lack of Qualifications An employee can be fairly dismissed for lack of qualifications to do the job only if it was made clear in the employment contract or letter of employment what qualifications are required and the employee does not have them or was employed under the false impression that he/she did have them. This […]
When it comes to the question of what is called “constructive dismissal” there is a certain amount of confusion as what it means. Technically, constructive dismissal is when an employee resigns from a company because the employer’s actions in relation to her or to him amounted to a breach of the employment contract. This often […]
In the series you will be able to identify what the Court regards –or has regarded over the years, as justified dismissals and what it has accounted as unjustified and why. We start with a judgement that came out in 2013 for misconduct. Two workers, a driver and a loader were dismissed for gross misconduct. […]
