Terminating workers legally is about asking two questions: why were you fired, and how were you fired?

Let’s start with the “why”.

A boss may only fire a worker for reasons allowed by law. And the “legal reasons” are those violations so serious that any reasonable, well-meaning boss is left with no option but to fire the worker. 

In the technical language of Article 282 Labor Code, these are: serious misconduct, willful disobedience, gross and habitual neglect of duties, commission of a crime, and a host of like cases.

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Now, let’s talk about the “how”. 

A boss must follow a drill before firing the worker. The drill is called the two-notice rule–a fancy term for a worker’s chance to explain his side. In law, we have this concept called due process which means everyone gets their right to be heard. 

So, the drill goes like this: the boss sends the first written notice where he tells the worker his violations, and asks him to explain why he shouldn’t be fired.

The worker then explains in writing his version of the facts and why he shouldn’t be fired. 

The boss will take a day or more to consider the worker’s explanation. If the explanation is no good, the boss sends the worker a second written notice, where he now informs the worker that he is terminated from work.

A dismissal is illegal if the “why” and “how” are missing. For example, the boss may have the reason to fire the worker, but if he skips the two-notice rule, he is liable. Or, he may have sent the two notices, but if his reason does not fit the law, the dismissal is still foul.

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