There are several different reasons for employment dismissal, but the most common are excessive absenteeism or tardiness, poor job performance, and dishonesty. Sometimes people are also dismissed from their jobs because they harassed co-workers or patrons of businesses and also because they failed mandatory drug and alcohol tests. Different places of employment tend to have different rules regarding what constitutes employment dismissal, and workers are occasionally given a specific number of warnings for every offense that violates the rules. After a certain number of warnings have been issued for either the same or various offenses, dismissal will likely occur.
Excessively missing work may be the top reason for employment dismissal. Companies often try to be fair about work absenteeism, particularly when the reasons for missing work are legitimate. Things like illnesses, hospital stays, and family emergencies are often excused by companies, but over time absences for these reasons may no longer be excused if it seems these problems are always occurring. Being late to work frequently is another common reason for employment dismissal. Most companies understand that some things that contribute to lateness, such as car trouble and traffic problems, cannot be helped, but it may begin to look suspicious when a person is late several times throughout the week for various reasons.
Many people end up losing their jobs due to poor job performance. Sometimes poor job performance is not something that can be helped, and people are occasionally just not cut out for specific types of work even though they initially thought they were. Poor job performance might also occasionally be the result of laziness or an intense dislike of a specific job by an employee. Regardless of the reason behind it, people who are not doing their jobs correctly are typically given a few chances to improve their work performance before being let go by companies.
Most companies do not tolerate dishonesty in any form from their employees, particularly if the dishonesty was intended to benefit an employee financially. Some examples of company dishonesty include lying on a time sheet to get paid for hours that were never worked or blaming a mistake made on another worker. Workplace harassment is also generally not tolerated by most companies, particularly if the harassment is sexual in nature. Rules vary in different locations and among different companies, but in most places, one instance of sexual harassment is grounds for immediate job termination.
There are additionally several companies that require their employees to undergo random drug or alcohol screenings. Most companies do not tolerate drug and alcohol abuse on the job, and people who come to work with these substances in their systems could be immediately dismissed. During random screenings, employees may be asked with no warning to provide a urine or blood sample to determine whether they have been using drugs or alcohol. Even if drugs and alcohol were not used on the job, using these substances a certain number of hours before arriving at work could still have an impact on job performance. Many companies have zero-tolerance rules in place for workplace drug and alcohol abuse, and tests that come up positive for these substances could lead to employment dismissal.
