What protection means
For certain categories of employee, dismissal on certain grounds requires the employer to seek permission before issuing the order.
That does not mean such a person can never be dismissed. It means the procedure is different, and that skipping it is a problem for the employer in its own right.
Who usually falls within it
Employees in advanced pregnancy. Parents on leave to raise a child. Employees on leave for temporary incapacity. Employees reassigned on health grounds and those with certain conditions. Employees on approved leave at the moment of dismissal.
Exactly who, and on which grounds, depends on the case. So the first step is to compare your situation with the ground stated in the order.
When the permission is missing
If it was required and never sought, that matters, regardless of whether the ground itself was substantively correct.
The practical consequence: someone who assumes they have no chance because “the department really was cut” may have a ground because of the procedure alone.
Employers do not always know
Small employers especially. Not every breach is deliberate, and some come from simply not knowing.
That does not change your rights, but it changes the tone of the conversation. Sometimes the matter is settled without proceedings once the other side understands where they stand.
The clock is running
The same applies here as to any dismissal: the deadline to challenge is short and runs from when you received the order.
If you are on sick leave or annual leave and receive an order, do not put the document aside until you are back. Call while the time is still yours.
Related
What I will need
The order and proof of when you received it. The documents establishing your situation: sick note, pregnancy documentation, leave order, health reassignment decision. The employment contract.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case. Rights and deadlines depend on the facts and the applicable law.