These are extremely challenging economic times and the pandemic has led to a large number of job losses already but amongst the genuine reasons for laying off staff some employers might be using COVID-19 as a cover for getting rid of people.
As highlighted on online sites such as lawalways, there are always going to be legal challenges to consider when someone has been wrongfully dismissed, for instance, and it often pays to understand what the law allows employers to do in such circumstances.
Here is a look at whether employers can use COVID-19 as a valid excuse and what can be done to fight back from an ex-employees perspective.
A chance to remove unwanted employees
The economic uncertainty created by the pandemic has been seized upon by some unscrupulous employers as the perfect smokescreen to be able to rid their firm of employees that they have been trying to sack for some time, but couldn’t because of their employment rights.
The problem for certain employees is that when they agree to accept temporary pay reductions or to be laid off for a period of time until the economic climate improves they are compromising their position by agreeing to terms they would not otherwise be willing to accept.
Employers end up paying lower wages or dismissing employees under the pretext of the impact of COVID-19.
In much the same way that a bad employer would dress up dismissing a pregnant employee using some other reason than not wanting someone who is going to take time off, making them redundant, for example, the virus is being used to terminate employees unfairly.
Getting to the root of the problem
Employees would do well to get some good legal representation under the sort of circumstances outlined and when it is firmly believed that the true reason for their dismissal is likely to be a breach of employment legislation.
There have been examples of employees who have had changes to their personal circumstances, such as being diagnosed with some physical or mental challenges that need time to overcome, who have been ousted from their position but a different reason has been cited, such as the impact of COVID-19 on the business.
Wrongful dismissal
When someone’s employment is terminated there are certain rules and procedures that need to be followed in order to comply with employment laws and rights.
It often requires a lawyer’s involvement to fight the case of an employee when an employer is clearly flouting the rules and using the guise of COVID-19 when there is an ulterior motive at play.
The problem can be exacerbated by the fact that an employer might have genuine financial problems as a result of the impact of COVID-19 but if they have resorted to illegal tactics to force the issue a court could well decide that they are looking at a case of wrongful dismissal.
It is clear that the pandemic is being used as an excuse by some employers to rid themselves of troublesome or unwanted employees, but employees should definitely get help if they suspect that the real reason for termination goes deeper than that.
