Navigating Workers’ Comp: Can You Get Fired While On Leave?

Hiring an employee requires a lot of attention, care, and study on the company’s part; it is natural to want a person capable and committed to carrying out the actions delegated to them. However, this is not always what happens, and it is necessary to fire this employee. For many reasons, this issue can happen to both older and younger people at home.

But attention is needed! There are specific cases in which it is impossible to fire an individual. Did you know? Check below on Lehmbecker Law Firm what these specificities are and what should be done in each, and stay tuned!

When Can An Employee NOT Be Fired?

There are some specific situations in which an employee cannot be fired! Check out what they are below!

  1. Work accident

A worker who has suffered an accident in the workplace related to their position or has an illness caused by the role performed cannot be fired.

Furthermore, he has the right to receive INSS and sickness benefits to undergo treatment for a dignified recovery. When he returns from leave, he cannot be fired for the next 1 year, that is, for the next 12 months.

In this case, you must return to your previous position or be reassigned to another within your limitations. In the case of companies that carry out this dismissal before or during the period of stability of the leave, they will have to:

  • Pay the termination installments that are in labor legislation;
  • Pay an extra amount;
  • Pay a fine related to dismissal.

Furthermore, the employee can file a labor lawsuit against the company, so it is always interesting to be careful in this case.

  1. Occupational illness

As previously mentioned, several diseases were defined by the Ministry of Health itself as related to the work environment. One of them is RSI – Repetitive Strain Injury – and Burnout Syndrome, which has been gaining increasingly more attention in the media lately. In both cases, the employee cannot be fired when the corporate space causes this. In this case, if the company still fires you, the employee will be entitled to:

  • Reintegration into the company;
  • Compensation for moral damages;
  • Compensation for aesthetic damage;
  • Compensation for material damage.
  1. Pregnancy

The legislation states that pregnant women cannot be fired from the moment the pregnancy is confirmed until the 5th month after giving birth. This is also a valid law where the baby dies during childbirth and for employees still on probation. Women who suffer from a voluntary abortion have the right to two weeks of paid rest, in addition to being able to return to the role they previously held without any problems. If the company dismisses the woman in any of the situations above, it will have to bear:

  • Balance corresponding to salary – 9 months;
  • Proportional holidays – 9/12ths + value of the constitutional third;
  • FGTS deposit + the amount corresponding to a 40% fine;
  • 13th salary according to the proportional amount;
  • Prior notice with the designated projection value until the end of the stability period.
  1. Eve of Retirement

Specifically for employees related to charitable, philanthropic, and religious institutions, it is the right to have stability in the following cases:

If there are only six months left until retirement, the individual must have worked in the same company for more than three years;

When are 12 months left, you must have worked for the same company for over 10 years.

Interestingly, you, both employee and commander, inform yourself about the cases in which this dismissal may or may not occur, more precisely about the profession or position held. In the case of a company that fires an employee who has this protection, it will have to bear:

  • Reintegration into the company;
  • Pay compensation for moral and material damage.
  1. Union leaders

This issue ensures that the union entity has independence, thus preventing directors from dismissing someone due to employer persecution. This way, the worker can negotiate with the employer, defending this category’s interests without being afraid of suffering any reprisal. This stability begins from the beginning of the candidacy for the position until one year after the term ends, but no serious misconduct should occur. In cases where this happens, the employee must:

  • Be rehired again;
  • Be entitled to your wages for the period you were away;
  • File a labor lawsuit.

It is necessary to be very sure in cases where an employee is fired; after all, it may be that in the future, there will be more clarity about the error made, and thus, it will be difficult to go back. Hope these answers the question of can you get fired while on workers comp.

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