Dismissal is a disciplinary process through which an employment contract is terminated due to serious misconduct on the part of the employee. The Honduran Labor Code establishes the just causes for which an employer may terminate an employment contract without liability, which are as follows:
- Any act of violence, abuse, or serious indiscipline by the employee during their work towards the employer, members of the employer’s family, or their co-workers.
- Malicious damage to buildings, works, or materials related to the job.
- Immoral or criminal acts proven by the competent authority.
- Disclosure of technical or commercial secrets, causing damage to the company.
- The employee has been convicted of a crime by a final judgment.
- Absence from work for two consecutive days or three alternate days within a month.
- Manifest refusal to comply with the safety measures implemented by the employer.
- Violations of the obligations and prohibitions established for the worker by the Labor Code or any serious offense classified as such in collective agreements or conventions, arbitration awards, individual contracts, or regulations.
If a worker incurs one of these causes, they are protected by the right to defense established in the Constitution of the Republic.
In this regard, the employer is obliged to summon the worker 24 hours in advance of a hearing to defend themselves against the offenses with which they are charged. The statute of limitations applies here: when an employee commits a fault, the employer has 30 days from the date the fault was committed, or from the date the employer became aware of it, to sanction the employee. Once the hearing has been held, if dismissal is to proceed, it must be notified in writing, detailing the fault and the legal grounds.
If the employer notifies the employee of the dismissal verbally, it is illegal and gives the employee the right to demand payment of benefits or reinstatement and, as compensation, payment of wages not received during the entire duration of the trial. The same applies in the case of dismissal in writing; the employee has the right to sue the employer, either for the payment of benefits and severance pay or reinstatement. That is why the dismissal process must be carried out in writing in accordance with the law, so that it is legal and justified, and thus avoid convictions that cause harm to the employer.