Employment Act 1968 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 2 · Contracts of Service
14. Dismissal
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After an inquiry, an employer may dismiss an employee for misconduct without notice. Instead, it may down-grade the employee or suspend them without pay for up to one week. An employee who thinks the dismissal lacked just cause may claim reinstatement or compensation. To claim, a manager or executive dismissed with notice must have served at least 6 months.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Last amended by an amending law of 2018. 2 amendments in all.
An employer may after due inquiry dismiss without notice an employee employed by the employer on the grounds of misconduct inconsistent with the fulfilment of the express or implied conditions of the employee’s service, except that instead of dismissing an employee an employer may —
employer
“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —(a)the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or employees of the Government as are declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act;(b)any statutory authority;(c)the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; and(d)the person who owns or is carrying on or for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;
instantly down-grade the employee; or
instantly suspend the employee from work without payment of salary for a period not exceeding one week.
Despite subsection (1), but subject to section 3 of the Employment Claims Act 2016, where a relevant employee considers that he or she has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his or her employer, the employee may lodge a claim, under section 13 of that Act, for either of the following remedies:
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include any of the following:(a)any seafarer;(b)any domestic worker;(c) (d)any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
reinstatement in the employee’s former employment;
compensation.
For the purposes of subsection (2), a relevant employee means —
an employee employed in a managerial or an executive position —
who is dismissed with notice; or
who is dismissed without notice but receives payment of any salary in lieu of notice,after having served that employer for at least 6 months in any position (whether or not a managerial or an executive position);
an employee employed in a managerial or an executive position who is dismissed without notice and without salary in lieu of such notice; or
an employee not employed in a managerial or an executive position.
If a Tribunal hearing the claim is satisfied that the employee has been dismissed without just cause or excuse, the Tribunal may, despite any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —
Tribunal
“Tribunal” means an Employment Claims Tribunal constituted under section 4 of the State Courts Act 1970;
in a claim for reinstatement of the employee in his or her former employment, direct the employer —
to reinstate the employee in the employee’s former employment; and
to pay the employee an amount equivalent to the wages that the employee would have earned, if the employee had not been dismissed; or
in a claim for compensation, direct the employer to pay, as compensation to the employee, an amount of wages determined by the Tribunal.
[Deleted by Act 55 of 2018]
[Deleted by Act 55 of 2018]
[Deleted by Act 55 of 2018]
[Deleted by Act 55 of 2018]
[Deleted by Act 55 of 2018]
For the purposes of an inquiry under subsection (1), the employer —
may suspend the employee from work for —
a period not exceeding one week; or
such longer period as the Commissioner may determine on an application by the employer; but(b)must pay the employee at least half the employee’s salary during the period the employee is suspended from work.
If the inquiry does not disclose any misconduct on the employee’s part, the employer must immediately restore to the employee the full amount of the salary so withheld.
salary
“salary” means all remuneration including allowances payable to an employee in respect of work done under his or her contract of service, but does not include —(a)the value of any house accommodation, supply of electricity, water, medical attendance, or other amenity, or of any service excluded by general or special order of the Minister published in the Gazette;(b)any contribution paid by the employer on his or her own account to any pension fund or provident fund;(c)any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession;(d)any sum paid to the employee to reimburse him or her for special expenses incurred by him or her in the course of his or her employment;(e)any gratuity payable on discharge or retirement; and(f)any retrenchment benefit payable on retrenchment;