Dear Friends,

Greetings!

Often "Insubordination" is used as a weapon for Misconduct in disciplinary actions including terminations.

Would like my fellow HR friends to highlight what all goes under the umbrella Insubordination?

Whether a pure disagreement / debate between an employee and a supervisor will be called as Insubordination? Any examples / thought process sharing will be highly appreciated.

Thanks and look forward to a rewarding learning from you.

Regards,

Sangeeta

Failure to follow orders of employment which are lawful and not exploring the employee to Danger is justifiable for dismissal 

- Gorden Frazer & Co. Vs. CMU – peon refusing to follow orders by a clerk - is justifiable for dismissal 

- Ceylon Estates staff’s union Vs. Meddekumbura Estate - Refusal to obey a reasonable order of transfer is justifiable for dismissal 

- CMU Vs. Associate News Papers Limited - Deliberate refusal of overtime to embarrass the employer is justifiable for dismissal

Above is a definition with few Sri Lankan cases

Bishnoi

Dear Sangeetha,

Insubordination / Disobedience  means not accepting or following the reasonable instruction or orders of the superiors.

See the below judgement:

Dismissal from service for misconduct of disobedience of lawful order of the superior cannot be shockingly disproportionate hence Bombay High Court in writ petition in the case of Thermax Ltd Vs Viswanath N Jadhav and Others, set aside reinstatement as awarded by the Labour Court. 2009 LLR 707

P.V.Vasanthakumar

Hi Sangeeta,

An employee who displays insubordinate behavior refuses to follow orders from a superior. This also includes instances where the employee breaks even minor company policies. You must be careful because insubordinate behavior sneaks up on you. The insubordinate employee often starts with one or two minor infractions. But once he or she sees this behavior go unpunished, the employee will move on to bolder ways of violating orders and company policies. This will cause you huge problems. You must immediately deal with an employee who is not performing job duties, bothering others and not listening.

Refer this link: http://www.boston.com/jobs/savvy_manager/030804.shtml

Cheers!

Radhika