Effective School Management

The legal position (Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act, 1978)
All employees who work for more than eight hours per week, have not reached
retirement age and have been continuously employed for more than two years
are protected against ‘unfair dismissal’. If such employees are found to have
been unfairly dismissed they will be entitled to compensation.
Furthermore they will be deemed to have been unfairly dismissed unless
the employer can show that he or she acted for one of the following five
reasons:
(1) Incapability or lack of qualification.
(2) Misconduct.
(3) Redundancy.
(4) The continuation of work would have contravened a statute (e.g. a driver
who loses his or her licence).
(5) Some other substantial reason.
And that the employer acted reasonably in all the circumstances. The burden of
proof is on the employer.
Proving that an employer has acted reasonably depends almost entirely on
whether the employer has followed the guidelines laid down in the ACAS
Code of Practice on Disciplinary Practices and Procedures and whether the
school has followed the procedures set out in the contracts of employment
issued to its staff.