Dear Editor
The Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, No. 19 of 1997 regulates the termination of employment in Guyana, without discrimination, and equally applicable to Public and Private Sector employment relations This Act, provides for a contract of employment without term limit, may at any time, be terminated. Employment contract terms may in reality be written, oral or implied; but always it should be fully written and duly signed by the parties.
This law provides for termination of an employment contract as follows: –
i) by mutual consent of the parties – the employer and the employee;
ii) by either party:
– for good and sufficient cause;
– by notice to the other party;
iii) on any ground of redundancy which relates to operational
requirements of an enterprise. 9Section 12) (I will address this applicable
provision in the law separately, in a follow-up letter /communication)
Unfair Dismissal (Section 8)
The following reasons are not valid or constitute good or sufficient cause for dismissal or for disciplinary action against an employee:-
▪ race, sex, religion, colour, ethnic origin, national extraction, social origin,
political opinion, family responsibility or marital status;
▪ pregnancy or reason connected with pregnancy or medically certified illness;
▪ absence due to compulsory military service or any other civic obligations in
accordance with any law;
▪ participation in lawful or legitimate industrial action;
▪ refusal to do any work normally done by an employee engaged in lawful or
legitimate industrial action; and
▪ complaint or participation in legal proceedings against an employer.
A dismissal or disciplinary action is unfair if it is based on any of the above listed
grounds or if the employer fails to give written warning or suspension without pay for
misconduct that is not so serious as to warrant dismissal (Sections 11 and 18).
It also constitutes unfair dismissal if an employer under Sections 11 or 18 of this
Act:-
▪ fails to give written warnings for any misconduct that is not serious so as to
attract dismissal, but may terminate the employment for the same or similar
offence or misconduct in the following six months;
▪ terminates the employment of an employee for unsatisfactory performance
unless the employer has given the employee instructions as to how the
employee should perform his/her duties and a written warning to follow the
employer’s instructions and the employee continues to perform
unsatisfactorily;
▪ dismisses an employee when it is reasonable for the employer to take other
disciplinary actions instead, including in order of severity regard being had to
the nature of the violation, employees’ duties, nature of any damage, previous
conduct and circumstances of the employee:-
– a written warning;
– suspension without pay.
A complaint that disciplinary action is unreasonable may be made to the Chief Labour
Officer for determination (Section 18). An employee also has the right to seek redress
from the High Court for unfair dismissal or unfair disciplinary action (Section 19).
Summary Dismissal (Section 10)
An employer is entitled to dismiss an employee without notice or payment of any
Severance or redundancy allowance or terminal benefit for a serious misconduct which
relates to the employment relations and has a detrimental effect on the employer’s
business.
Sincerely,
Samuel J. Goolsarran
