Labour law accepts the firing of guilty employees only if dismissal is the last resort. The Code of Good Practice: Dismissal provides that, where employers are considering dismissing an employee they should be able to justify this drastic sanction by proving that the employee’s misconduct is so serious that it makes continued employment intolerable. One factor that could constitute such intolerability is the employee’s breach of the trust relationship.
For example, the employer is entitled to claim that, where an employee is found guilty of dishonesty, the trust element of the employment relationship has been damaged. However, this does not necessarily mean that the damage to the trust relationship is always so bad that it is irreparable...
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