An employee at the American embassy claimed that she was improperly terminated after a quick termination hearing that was held for appearance only.
The Labor Court accepted the claim and held that there was a defect in the termination of the employee due to not giving her the right to a lawful hearing. A proper termination hearing procedure under law must allow the employee sufficient time to prepare for it as well as a fair opportunity to convince the employer not to be terminated, whatever the reason for the termination may be. Here, the employee was summoned to a termination hearing with only two days’ notice. Upon delivery of the letter of invitation to the hearing, the employee was immediately placed on forced leave, she was denied access to emails and the employer has already assigned another replacement employee to step into her shoes. The decision to terminate the employee was already made when the invitation to the termination hearing was sent and the employee was not given a real and substantial opportunity to raise claims at the termination hearing in such a manner that they would seriously consider her continued employment in the same position. Therefore, the "termination hearing" held for the employee was done only for appearance and the employee is entitled to compensation.