Discharge simpliciter in relation to employment law is a termination simpliciter i.e.

termination
of services as per terms of contract. it is usually used when the employer excercises his right
under the employment contract in good faith, on loosing faith. It is distinguished from dismissal
as latter is termination by way of punishment. However if the discharge simpliciter is challenged
in the court of law, court can lift the veil and if the discharge is victimisation, unfairlabour
practice, or punishment for any misconduct, malfide and the said action has been resorted to
dispense with the principles of natural justice of hearing the employee concerned before
punishing him, such termination can be set aside. Where the employer satisfies the court
that action has been taken in good faith then the discharge is upheld.

Discharge : In common law the term 'discharge' is used to describe the•termination of an

employee's service for reasons like redundancy, superannuation or infirmity which do not imply
an act of misconduct on the part of the employee. It is commonly called 'discharge simpliciter• to
distinguish it from discharge by way of punishment.

Discharge can be of two types : discharge simpliciter and discharge by way of punishment.
Discharge simpliciter is a termination of service in terms of the worker's contract of service, not
for any misconduct but for some other reasons such as the worker's~abandonment of his job,
expiry of the period for which he was e~ployed,inefficiency during the probation period,
physical incapacity to work due to some accident etc. On the other hand discharge by way
punishment is given where the worker has committed a misconduct and he has been found to be
guilty in a domestic enquiry, and the employer feels that the interest of justice will be met by
giving the lesser punishment of discharge instead of the extreme punishment of dismissal.

Examoles of valid discharge simpliciter : Temporary worker can be discharged at any time under
the terms of service, and such a discharge should not be for a misconduct • As regards
probationers~the law is that if they are put on probation for a certain period their services can be
terminated at the end of that period24 but not before it • Where the Standing Orders of the
establishment permit the employer to discharge the worker for absence without 346 leave for a
certain number of days, the employer can validly discharge him even though the absence of the
worker was due to circumstances beyond his control. If, under the Standing Orders, a worker can
be discharged for absence without leave for a certain period, then if absence without leave is
described as a misconduct under some other Standing Order, the worker can be discharged
without holding an enquiry• \fuere there are no Standing O~ders in the establishment, an enquiry
must be held before discharging the worker for absence without leave • Where the worker
cannot work because he·has been arrested by the police, his discharge is valid .Where the worker
is convicted by Criminal court he can be discharged • But vlhere the conviction is set aside on
appeal the order must be set aside.

Examples of invalid discharge simpliciter : Where a worker of 30 years service is discharged on

the grounds of going slow, without giving him an opportunity of hearing, the action is invalid37
• Where the termination of service is capricious, arbitrary or unnecessarily harsh on the part of
the ~s employer judged by normal standards of a reasonable man that I may be cogent evidence
of victimization or unfair labour practice • Where the Standing Orders define misconduct so as to
include unsatisfactory performance, opportunity of hearing must be given to a probationer who is
discharged on this basis.

Fourthly, if every termination of service is accepted as retrenchment then discharge simpliciter would
also be covered by retrenchment and hence the concept of discharge simpliciter would become
redundant. The Industrial Disputes Act very clearly recognizes a distinction between a retrenchment and
a discharge simpliciter.43 In discharge simpliciter, the termination of service is brought about by the
conduct of the workman and by the operation of the Standing Orders. For any termination of service,
the reasons are to be recorded by the employers and the reasons normally are loss of confidence,44 fall
in efficiency, incompetence,45 failure to pass a qualifying test,46 etc. This position is well recognised by
the Supreme Court itself.47 Therefore every termination of service, particularly discharge simpliciter,
cannot be properly described as retrenchment. "A plain reading of section 2A of the Industrial Disputes
Act gives a clear and unfailing indication that the legislature itself had no intention of confusing or
identifying retrenchment with other forms of termination of service."48 Similarly, in the context of
section 11A retrenchment is recognised as a separate and distinct form of termination of service, as
compared to discharge or dismissal.
1. Gujarat Steel Tubes Ltd vs Gujarat Steel Tubes Mazdoor Sabha [1980 AIR 1896]

2. Blue Star Limited vs N.R. Sharma And Ors. [1975) IILLJ 300 Del]

3. Gujarat Bank Worker'S Union vs Jamnagar Dist. Co-Operative Bank (1979) ILLJ 82 Guj

4. Management Shahdara (Delhi) ... vs S.S. Railway Workers' Union 1969 AIR 513

5. Gujarat Mineral Development ... vs Shri P. H. Brahmbhatt 1974 AIR 136, 1974 SCR (2)

128
6. State Bank Of India vs Workmen Of State Bank Of India [1990 AIR 2034]

7. Virendrakumar Jayantilal ... vs Gujarat Electricity Board (2005) 1 GLR 187

8. The Tata Oil Mills Co., Ltd vs Workmen & Anr [1966 AIR 1672]

9. Premier Tyres Limited vs V.A. Abraham (1976) ILLJ 161 Ker

10. Delhi Transport Corporation vs Om Kumar And Ors. on 19 October, 2001
11. K. Ramachandra Nair vs The Bombay Gymkhana Ltd. And Ors. on 3 February, 1988
12. National Machinery ... vs Vyas (P.D.) And Anr.
13. The Management Of City Knitting ... vs K.K.Selvaraj
14. Sandeep Singh vs State Of U.P. Through Prin. Secy. ... on 3 July, 2018
15. Union Of India & Ors vs Mahaveer C.Singvi on 29 July, 2010