An employer can summarily dismiss an employee who commits a serious breach of a major term of the contract. Attitudes have changed as to what are the proper standards of behaviour of employees towards employers, and so the old court decisions are of little help today. The relative importance of the terms of a contract is usually determined by the importance the parties see them as having.
The following principles are generally applied when considering whether the employee's conduct would justify summary dismissal, but they are by no means the only ones:
Sexual harassment at work is a form of serious misconduct, and can be a valid reason for dismissal without notice under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
If an employer summarily dismisses an employee in circumstances not warranting summary dismissal it may still be a defence to the employer to establish that, although he or she did not know of it at the time of the dismissal, grounds existed which did provide sufficient basis to exercise summary dismissal.
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Legal Services acknowledges Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners and ongoing occupants of the lands and waters in South Australia and we respect their spiritual, cultural and heritage beliefs. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community and pay our deep respect to Elders past and present.
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