Examining the Protection of Employment Act (cont’d)

This quote by Plato got a smirk out of me “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”

Today, we continue our series that focuses on certain aspects of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Protection of Employment Act, 2003. This week we look at Terms of employment in writing, and Termination for good cause. The Act states as follows:

“8. (1) Save in the case of daily paid and weekly paid workers, an employer shall inform an employee in writing of the terms and conditions of employment and such terms and conditions shall include:

(a) The date of commencement of employment;
(b) The name and address of the employer and the employee;
(c) The rate of pay, the overtime rate if any and the pay period;
(d) The probationary period if any;
(e) The hour of work including time off and rest period, if any;
(f) The rate of vacation, sick and maternity leave if applicable; and
(g) The duties to be performed.”

This is explicit. An employee should be given a written document outlining the terms of the employment relationship within seven working days of employment.

There are cases where employees are employed but are afraid to ask about the condition of employment because they are afraid they would be fired. A law abiding employer would ensure that the employee is in the know. That the employee is told or shown how to determinate their hourly rate and how to calculate their overtime pay. In so doing, the employee will be able to determine if a mistake was made with their wage calculation. The employee should know if they are on probation and for how long. When the probationary period has elapsed, the employee has a right to enquire about a letter of confirmation and whatever benefits they may be entitled to.
The employee should also be aware that during the probationary period the employment relationship can be terminated at any time by either party and only wage for period worked or notice will be due. The employee should also be aware of vacation, sick leave, maternity or, as is the case now, paternity leave entitlement. The employee should be given a job description outlining the duties and responsibilities. Where the job description has been agreed upon and signed, an employee cannot refuse to carry out the assigned work. Where it is alleged that the assigned tasks are impacting the employee’s health, the employee is expected to produce a certified doctor’s report of such.

Termination for good cause: The Act states “(1) The services of an employee may be terminated for good cause, and any employee whose service is so terminated shall not be eligible to receive from his employer severance pay under Part III of this Act.”

Point to note, severance pay is not applicable for all terminations. The term “Termination for good cause” means that the employee has given the employer a good reason to sever the employment relationship. Where the employee’s actions warrant termination, severance is not paid. Termination for good cause could be in the form of a summary dismissal i.e. termination for a matter without applying other forms of disciplinary procedures. Or, it could be after the employee would have received several warnings and chances to correct negative behaviours or poor performance.

According to the Act, an employee could be terminated without severance if found guilty of repeated misconduct. For example, if an employee’s negligence resulted in property damage. If this is a repeated offence and the employee was warned on previous occasions about their behaviour, but the negligent behaviour continued.

The employee could be terminated for good cause.

Another reason for termination for good cause is unsatisfactory performance. In this case, if over a six-month period, the employee received verbal and written warnings about their conduct and performance and the consequence of the persistent behaviour. Also, that the warnings were done in the presence of two credible witnesses.

It must also be noted that the employee must know that he/she is being warned. There are cases where managers claimed that employees were warned but employees denied ever being warned. Usually, in those cases, a manager may have made a “passing comment” to an employee or, composed a generic memo to the entire company or department instead of dealing directly with the offending employee. A warning should be done in the presence of two credible witnesses and a warning letter should be signed by the employee in acknowledgment.

Join us again next week as we conclude ‘Termination for good cause’.

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