Graduated Employee Warning Letters: Proper Discipline Before Termination

Why a termination decision collapses without a documented file

In a labor dispute the burden of proving the reason for dismissal falls on the employer, not the employee. If you claim the employee is repeatedly absent or negligent in his work, you are asked to produce what proves it: records, written warnings the employee received, and an escalation of the penalty. A verbal claim carries no weight before the competent authority.

• Without signed written warnings, the dismissal is deemed unsupported by a legitimate reason and is classified as arbitrary.
• Without gradation, even if the fault is real, the penalty may be deemed disproportionate to the violation.
• Without clear dates, you cannot prove you imposed the penalty within the statutory period, so the penalty lapses.
• The result of all this: a ruling for compensation for unlawful dismissal and the return of dues you thought you were clear of.

The correct disciplinary gradation under Article 71

Disciplinary penalties under the Labor Law are not a random choice but a graduated ladder that begins with the lightest. No more than one penalty may be imposed for a single violation, and no penalty may be imposed for a violation more than thirty days after its discovery. The usual gradation proceeds as follows.

1. Notice: a verbal then written reminder for the first minor violation, with an internal record documenting the date and the incident.
2. First written warning: an official letter describing the violation, referring to the prior notice, and cautioning against repetition, received by the employee with his signature.
3. Deduction from wages or suspension from work without pay, within the limits permitted by the approved regulations, upon continuation of the violation.
4. Final warning: a letter making clear that any repetition will lead to ending the contract, on which the dismissal is based if the employee does not respond.

Each penalty must be listed in the establishment's work-organization regulations approved by the ministry, so do not impose a penalty your regulations do not provide for. The employee must be notified of the violation attributed to him and his statements heard before the penalty is imposed.

Statutory periods for imposing a penalty

• No penalty may be imposed for a violation of which the employer became aware more than thirty days ago.
• No penalty may be imposed after ninety days have passed from the date the violation was established, even if it was discovered within the thirty days.
• The employee must be notified in writing of the penalty imposed, and he may object to it before the competent authority within the statutory period.

In practice these periods mean you cannot accumulate old violations and then use them all at once to justify dismissal. Each incident is dealt with at the time and with a documented letter, otherwise your right to rely on it lapses.

Dismissal without award under Article 80

Article 80 allows the employer to terminate the contract without award, notice, or compensation in specific serious cases listed exhaustively, including the employee's assault on the employer or his manager during work, failure to perform his essential obligations, committing an act dishonoring honor or trust, and absence without a legitimate reason for consecutive or intermittent periods exceeding the limit set by the law.

Yet even in these cases the law requires that the employee be enabled to state his case, and that the dismissal be close to the incident rather than long after it. In violations such as repeated absence, your position is greatly strengthened if the dismissal was preceded by an explicit written warning cautioning that continued absence exposes the contract to termination. The warning here is not merely a formality but evidence that the dismissal was neither sudden nor arbitrary.

• Confirm the case is among those exhaustively listed in Article 80, not a similar case you analogized to it.
• Keep the prior warnings and records, for they are what turn your claim into an established fact.
• Document the hearing of the employee's statements and his refusal or undertaking, with his signature or a refusal record signed by two witnesses.

What must be documented at each step

• The employee's name, job number, department, and the precise date of the incident.
• A specific factual description of the violation, not general phrases like poor performance.
• A reference to the prior warning or notice, its number and date, to prove gradation.
• The type of penalty imposed and the article relied upon in the work-organization regulations.
• The employee's signature acknowledging receipt, or a refusal-to-sign record signed by two witnesses upon refusal.
• Keeping a copy in the personnel file and sending a copy to the employee by a provable means.

The core paragraph of a written warning

This is the paragraph a first written warning rests on: it names the warning, cautions against repetition, and ties the more severe penalty to the law and the establishment's regulations.

Frequently asked questions