Can my employer sack me without notice or a reason in Ghana?

Either party can end a contract of employment by giving written notice, and the day the notice is given counts as part of it (Labour Act, section 17). A contract paid monthly runs from month to month, one paid weekly runs from week to week, and any other is determinable at will (section 16). The notice required is:

• For a contract of three years or more: one month's notice or one month's pay instead of notice.
• For a contract of less than three years: two weeks' notice or two weeks' pay instead of notice.
• For a contract from week to week: seven days' notice.
• For a contract determinable at will: it can be ended at the close of any day without notice.

Either party can also end the contract without notice by paying the other a sum equal to the pay the worker would have earned during the notice period (section 18(4)).

A termination is fair if it is for incompetence or lack of the qualification for the work, proven misconduct, redundancy under section 65, or a legal restriction that stops the worker doing the job (section 62). A termination is unfair if the only reason for it is one of these (section 63(2)):

• You joined, intended to join or left a trade union, or intended to take part in union activities.
• You sought office as, or acted as, a workers' representative.
• You filed a complaint or took part in proceedings against your employer about a breach of the law.
• Your gender, race, colour, ethnicity, origin, religion, creed, or social, political or economic status.
• For a woman, your pregnancy or your absence on maternity leave.
• Your disability.
• You were temporarily ill or injured, as certified by a recognised medical practitioner.
• You do not have a new level of qualification that was not required when you started.
• You refused to do the work of workers taking part in a lawful strike, unless it was needed to prevent danger to life, safety or health or to maintain plant and equipment.

A termination is also treated as unfair if you end the contract because of ill-treatment by your employer, or because your employer failed to act on repeated complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace (section 63(3)). A termination may be unfair if the employer fails to prove that the reason was fair, or that it followed a fair procedure or the Labour Act (section 63(4)).

These rules on fair and unfair termination do not apply to workers on a contract for a specified period or specified work, workers serving a probation period of reasonable length fixed in advance, or casual workers (section 66).

• Keep your contract, any termination letter, payslips and messages about why you were dismissed.
• Check that you have been paid what is due on termination: remuneration earned, deferred pay and any compensation for sickness or accident (section 18(1)).
• Complain to the National Labour Commission (section 64(1)). If it finds the termination unfair, it can order your employer to reinstate you from the date of termination, re-employ you in the same or other reasonably suitable work on the same terms, or pay you compensation (section 64(2)).
• If an employer does not comply with an order of the Commission, the Commission applies to the High Court for an order compelling compliance (section 172).