Termination for conduct-related reasons
Termination for conduct-related reasons is when an employee is dismissed due to a breach of their employment contract.
Legal regulations
As soon as a company has more than 10 employees, statutory protection against dismissal applies. According to the Dismissal Protection Act, employers may not dismiss their employees without cause, but must state the reason for the dismissal.
Termination for conduct-related reasons: Reasons
Accordingly, a distinction can be made between 3 areas with permissible grounds for termination:
- Termination due to breach of employment duties
- Termination due to breach of trust
- Dismissal due to disruptions to operational order
The following reasons can now be assigned to these 3 areas:
is a breach of employment duties:
- Refusal to work
- Regular late arrivals or early departures & unexcused absences
- Minus hours
- sloppy, faulty or too slow work
- Private use of Internet, company cell phone or e-mail
- Assault against a superior or colleague
- defamation or damage to the employer’s reputation
- Self-leave
Breaches of trust are:
- Working time fraud
- Insulting colleagues, superiors or customers
- Theft of any kind
- Fraud
- Sick leave
- Competitive activity
- Industrial espionage
Disruptions to operational order are:
- sexual harassment
- Bullying
- Alcohol in the workplace
- Smoking despite the smoking ban
- Drug abuse
- Violation of safety regulations
Is there a blocking period?
An employee who has received a dismissal for conduct-related reasons due to an alleged breach of duty and then leaves this dismissal to stand is usually given a blocking period of 12 weeks by the employment agency.
The reason for this is that the employment agency assumes that the employee’s conduct was in breach of the employment contract and that the unemployment was caused intentionally or through gross negligence.
The risk of this blocking period is a good reason to file an action for protection against dismissal. It is often the case that the employer withdraws the allegations during the process.
So if you are dependent on unemployment benefit I and a good reference, you should consider taking legal action against dismissal.
In such a process, however, it is rather rare for employees to win or receive a settlement. However, a settlement can often be negotiated. This means that you are at least entitled to a “reasonable” reference. The employer is also usually prepared to provide an explanation.
