Termination Following Warning Period Insufficiently Long

The court addressed the validity of an immediate termination following earlier minor contractual breaches by an employee, where a warning had been issued. The court reasoned that while a warning for minor violations can justify subsequent immediate dismissal for further misconduct, an adequate probationary period must be allowed for trust to be restored. In this case, the warning letter was deemed sufficiently clear in threatening immediate dismissal for future breaches, but the subsequent termination, issued after only a very short working period following the warning (and during a known pregnancy absence), occurred before a reasonable probationary period had elapsed, rendering the immediate termination unjustified.