The indirect termination of employment contract is a matter of great importance in companies, as it is a type of contract interruption that indicates some failure in relation to the organization’s conduct. This is an employee’s inherent right and can happen for different reasons.
In this post, you’ll understand what this type of termination is, how it happens, and why it occurs. In addition, you will know the impact of these layoffs for a company, how to identify and how to use some tools to avoid this type of layoff.
what is indirect termination
Among the various types of dismissal that occur in the labor market, indirect termination is also configured. This is a right applicable to the employee, who can request the termination of employment relationships with a company if he has been committed to serious misconduct on the part of the organization. Therefore, it is a dismissal, for just cause, but leaving the employee for the company.
The main drivers of indirect termination are occasionally related to inappropriate behavior by the company. In other words, while the employee must behave consistently in their work, the employer also has these responsibilities.
Below are the reasons why the employee may request dismissal, according to the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws), in article 483 , of Decree-Law No. 5.452, of May 1, 1943: the employee may consider terminated the contract and claim the due indemnity when:
- services superior to their forces are demanded, protected by law, contrary to good customs or outside the contract;
- is treated by the employer or his superiors with excessive rigor;
- to be in manifest danger of considerable harm;
- failure to comply with the employer’s obligations under the contract;
- practice the employer or his agents, against him or people of his family, an act harmful to honor and good reputation;
- the employer or his agents physically offend him, except in the case of self-defense, self-defense or that of others;
- the employer reduce his work, whether it is per piece or task, in order to appreciably affect the importance of wages.
Indirect termination can also be called employer’s just cause or forced dismissal and, as mentioned above, it happens when the employer fails to comply with the employment contract agreement or violates the rules described above.
How indirect termination works
This type of termination happens in very specific cases and the company must be notified as a matter of urgency. In addition, it is necessary to prove the events concerning the laws that she is being accused of not complying with.
To carry out this confirmation of the facts that occurred, some artifices can be used, such as: photos, audio, video recording, witnesses etc.
Thus, the evidence will be investigated and who will take the decision on possible cases of contract termination is the Superior Labor Court (TST) , a Brazilian body of high instance to judge labor situations.
According to an article by Jusbrasil, “indirect termination, as soon as recognized in court, obliges the employer to pay the former employee all severance pay, in the same way as if he had been dismissed without cause, including a 40% indemnity on the FGTS. This is because the termination was due to a breach of contract by the employer”.
how to calculate
When an indirect termination occurs, all termination rights are assured to the employee . Therefore, he will be able to calculate the amounts he should receive, considering the following rights involved in a dismissal process :
- Salary proportional to days worked since the last payment;
- 13th proportional salary;
- Possibility of withdrawal of FGTS, plus 40% of the total indemnity amount;
- Overdue vacations;
- Proportional vacation with the addition of ⅓;
- Necessary guides for applying for unemployment insurance;
- Indemnity for moral damages (depending on the reason for which the termination is being carried out).
How to request indirect termination
To claim an indirect termination, the employee must file a labor claim. It is recommended that this process be conducted by a lawyer, preferably specialized in labor claims.
Regarding the duration of the process, it is not possible to state precisely the period that this legal activity will take place, as it will depend on the forum where the action was filed.
Another important recommendation for the employee who starts a forced dismissal process is that when he makes this decision, be sure to notify the company involved, so that his absences are not considered abandonment of work .
Role of HR in this context
The main task of the HR sector is people management . Therefore, a professional responsible for managing interpersonal relationships in the workplace must be very attentive to situations that can lead to this type of disconnection .
On a daily basis, there is some evidence that can be identified, in order to avoid these situations of non-compliance with labor standards established between employer and employee.
Therefore, it is the role of the HR sector to be alert, but also to educate leaders and subordinates for good organizational conduct . Furthermore, it is necessary to keep all employees informed about good corporate relationship practices.
Understand, even though these rules are often implicitly practiced, it is essential that they are clearly understood, precisely to prevent any type of serious behavior failure.
business turnover
Another important point to be highlighted is the impact of indirect termination on a company’s turnover rate . To put it in context, it is a method that qualifies the level of turnover of people in a company , that is, it is the number of layoffs that take place in a given period and that raises the layoff rate.
We know that layoffs occur due to various factors: hiring incompatible with the company’s culture, the country’s economic situation, benefits and remuneration out of line with the market, an unpleasant organizational climate, among others. The latter is directly related to indirect terminations.
This occurs when an organization does not maintain a favorable work environment, therefore, it tends to encounter relationship problems and behavioral tensions, which can lead to unwanted disconnections.
Therefore, measuring your company’s turnover rate and, especially, analyzing the factors related to these results, is an essential practice when it comes to people management.
In addition, there are also other methods that can help identify misalignments in organizational conduct and create improvement strategies for the corporate environment.
Climate research
The climate survey is a widely used tool to identify the perceptions that employees have about the company. In general, it identifies, from the employees’ perspective, how their work environment is doing and what are the thoughts and feelings that each one expresses in relation to the organizational climate.
This survey should always be done anonymously, so that people feel completely free and comfortable to talk about their perceptions. In addition, the questions need to be related to topics such as team behavior, relationships with leaders, feeling of job security, diversity and respect.
But it is very important to establish the objective of the climate survey , considering, for example, that the purpose is to detect possible breaches of labor laws and situations of serious misconduct, with regard to the relationship between company and employee. So, create a form that encourages employees to think of situations that can present these elements.
In this way, in addition to getting to know your employees better and knowing what their impressions of their work environment are, with a climate survey, it is possible to predict and prevent cases of non-compliance with employment contracts.
Employer Branding
Another important tool that can contribute significantly to the challenge of maintaining a healthy turnover in a company is employer branding .
Employer branding literally means employer brand . This term clearly defines the essence of this methodology, as its objective is precisely to create actions to improve the reputation of a business in the market , that is, to make this brand attractive to new talents and, at the same time, retain its employees in a natural way .
An important issue to consider when it comes to employer branding is culture . Therefore, to start an implementation process of this technique, it is essential to identify the values, principles and purpose of your business.
From there, you can attract people compatible with this culture and keep those who are already part of your company, who share these brand values and principles.
By applying employer branding , your company shows employees what its customs are, highlights its precepts, takes a stand in relation to them and solidifies its culture. When this process happens, several benefits are added, such as:
- easier hiring;
- retention of professionals harmonized with the organization’s purpose;
- spontaneous media, because as people perceive the actions generated by employer branding, they share about them;
- greater employee satisfaction.
Including, the reduction of indirect layoffs, since hiring will be more adequate and employees, both leaders and led, will feel more belonging to the company.
People management
Thinking about indirect termination, we were able to realize that this is a fact directly linked to people management and the relationship between company and employee. Thus, it is up to the HR professional to manage these relationships, which can often become conflicting.
