An employee was summoned to a hearing only one day prior to the hearing date, when the summoning was general and stated that the cause of the dismissal was non-conformity with the requirements of the position and the relationship between the employee and the manager. The hearing also included grounds for termination that did not appear in the summoning.
The National Labor Court held that the employee is to be compensated for lack of a due hearing. In order for the employee to duly have an opportunity to prepare for a hearing, the employee must be given reasonable time to do so. Sending a summoning only one day prior to the hearing constituted a defect in the hearing in this case. In addition, in the absence of details as part of the summoning for a hearing, the employee cannot prepare in advance for arguments that will be raised during the hearing. The purpose of the hearing is not to surprise the employee and to examine the spontaneous reaction to the allegations against the employee, but rather to discuss the reasons for which the possibility of dismissal is being considered, while giving the employee a fair opportunity to present arguments.