# Can an employer fire a worker without a reason in Pakistan? > Town Administration v. Mohammad Khalid, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 2024 SCMR 1852, Civil Petitions Nos. 2697-L and 2698-L of 2016, decided 28 June 2024. Bench: Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Shahid Bilal Hassan, JJ. - Topic: Workplace - Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan - Citation: 2024 SCMR 1852 - The myth: "A daily wager can be fired any day, just by word of mouth." Verdict: Wrong. - Watch: https://failegal.site/media/can-employer-fire-worker-without-reason-pakistan-2024-scmr-1852 (video https://failegal.site/media/can-employer-fire-worker-without-reason-pakistan-2024-scmr-1852/reel.mp4, 1:28) - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-23 No. In Pakistan a worker can be removed only by an order in writing that clearly states the reason. In 2024 the Supreme Court left in place the return of two town administration workers, hired for 83 days again and again for years and then dismissed by word of mouth, as permanent workers with back benefits (2024 SCMR 1852). The written rule was Standing Order 12(3) of the 1968 Standing Orders Ordinance. In Punjab the Labour Code 2026 has replaced that Ordinance and keeps the same words in section 146(3). A job can still end: truly temporary work ends, and a permanent job can end with notice. But never by word of mouth. ## Key points - No workman can be terminated, removed, retrenched, discharged or dismissed except by an order in writing that explicitly states the reason (Standing Orders Ordinance 1968, Standing Order 12(3); 2024 SCMR 1852, paras 7 and 9). - No labour or service law lets an employer terminate verbally, even in a plain termination where no misconduct is alleged (2024 SCMR 1852, para 10). - Calling a job daily wages or temporary does not decide it. The two men were re-appointed for 83 days again and again on permanent posts for three and six years, and the Court called that a circumvention of the labour laws (paras 8 and 11). - What proved their case: salary paid through the bank (account statements), pay slips, the attendance register and their appointment orders (para 8). - In Punjab the Labour Code 2026 has replaced the 1968 Ordinance (s.435) and keeps the rule in s.146(3). A fixed-term agreement cannot be used for permanent work, and one renewed more than twice counts as permanent (s.138(4) and (5)). ## Can an employer fire a worker without a reason in Pakistan? Not without a written order that gives the reason. Standing Order 12(3) of the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance 1968 says a workman's services shall not be terminated, nor shall he be removed, retrenched, discharged or dismissed, except by an order in writing that explicitly states the reason for the action. The worker can then take that order to the Labour Court. The Supreme Court has said that no provision of the labour or service laws lets an employer terminate verbally, even in a plain termination where no misconduct is alleged, and that a verbal order also goes against natural justice: before any adverse action, the person affected must get a fair chance to answer (2024 SCMR 1852, para 10). The 1968 Ordinance covers workmen in industrial and commercial establishments with twenty or more workmen, but not government establishments where statutory service rules apply (s.1(4)). ## Chak Jhumra: 83 days, again and again One man joined the Town Administration at Chak Jhumra, in Faisalabad district, as a helper electrician on 1 July 2007. He worked continuously for about three years and asked several times to be made regular; the department treated him as temporary and dismissed him by an oral order on 3 April 2010 (2024 SCMR 1852, para 2). The other was appointed driver at the disposal works on 22 June 2005 on a temporary basis and then naib qasid on 22 August 2005. He worked for about six years, and when he came to work on 1 March 2011 he was terminated by an oral order (paras 2 and 8). Both filed grievance petitions under section 33 of the Punjab Industrial Relations Act 2010. The Labour Court found that they had been appointed for 83 days again and again and had worked for more than nine months against permanent posts, and ordered them reinstated as regular employees with back benefits (paras 2 and 8). ## What the Supreme Court decided The department's appeals to the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal were one month and two days late and were dismissed, and the Lahore High Court dismissed its writ petitions on 23 June 2016 (para 8). On 28 June 2024 Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan dismissed the department's petitions and refused leave to appeal (para 14). On the merits, the Court said both men had worked continuously, far beyond nine months, against posts of a permanent nature, whatever the department called the arrangement. Nobody claimed the work was a finished project or that the posts had been abolished. Keeping them that way for so long was a circumvention of the labour laws, and the Labour Court was right to reinstate them (para 11). On the late appeal, the Court added that government departments get no special leniency on limitation: they are treated in the same way as any other litigant (para 13). ## Can a temporary or daily wage worker become permanent? Yes, if the work itself is permanent. Under Standing Order 1, a temporary workman is engaged for work of an essentially temporary nature likely to be finished within nine months; a permanent workman is engaged on work of a permanent nature likely to last more than nine months and has completed a three-month probation. The nature of the work decides, not the label: truly temporary work does not make anyone permanent, however long it lasts (para 12, citing 1990 SCMR 1539 and PLD 1996 SC 610). Once a worker shows years of continuous service, the burden shifts to the employer to show that the work was not of a permanent nature and could not have lasted more than nine months (para 12, citing PLD 1996 SC 610). In Punjab the Labour Code 2026 now says this directly. No fixed-term agreement may be made for work of a permanent nature; a general fixed-term agreement runs for at most three months, and three in a row for at most nine; and an agreement that fills a lasting post in the core operations, or is renewed more than twice, is deemed permanent (ss.138 and 139). ## How can a job lawfully end? A job is not for life. Truly temporary work ends when the work ends. Under the 1968 Ordinance a permanent workman can be let go for a reason other than misconduct with one month's notice, or one month's wages instead (Standing Order 12(1)); a temporary workman, probationer or badli is not owed notice (Standing Order 12(2)). Misconduct has its own procedure under Standing Order 15 (para 7). The Supreme Court has also held that an employer may end a job without proving misconduct, a termination simpliciter, so long as the written order explicitly gives the reason (Allied Bank Ltd v. Zulfiqar Ali Shar, 2021 SCMR 1213). In Punjab the Labour Code 2026 asks for a valid reason connected with the employee's capacity or conduct or the establishment's operational needs (s.146(2)), 30 days' written notice or 30 days' pay unless the employee is guilty of gross misconduct, or 14 days in a micro-enterprise (s.150), and payment of earned dues within two working days (s.146(6)). In every case: in writing, with the reason (s.146(3)). ## What a fired worker can do Ask for the termination in writing. Keep your proof from the first day: appointment letters, pay slips, bank statements showing your salary, and the attendance register. In this case those papers proved three and six years of continuous work (para 8). Then act quickly. A termination goes to the Labour Court; in Punjab the Labour Code 2026 sets the remedy (s.146(7), read with s.335), and an employee who is kept out of the workplace other than for gross misconduct may complain in writing to the area Inspector within five days (s.146(8)). Deadlines are strict: in this case the department lost its appeal for being one month and two days late (paras 8 and 13). ## The case at a glance - **Facts:** Two men worked for the Town Administration at Chak Jhumra, one as a helper electrician from 1 July 2007 and one as a driver and then naib qasid from 2005, on 83-day appointments made again and again. They were dismissed by oral orders on 3 April 2010 and 1 March 2011. The Labour Court reinstated both as regular employees with back benefits; the department's appeals were late and its writ petitions failed. - **The question:** Could the department dismiss long-serving workers it called temporary or daily wage, working on permanent posts, by word of mouth? - **What the Court held:** No. A termination needs an order in writing that explicitly states the reason (Standing Order 12). Workers kept far beyond nine months on permanent posts were unlawfully terminated and rightly reinstated. Petitions dismissed, leave refused. - **Why:** No labour or service law allows a verbal termination, and it offends natural justice (para 10, following 2022 SCMR 636). The nature of the work decides whether a worker is permanent; repeated 83-day appointments on permanent posts were a circumvention of the labour laws (paras 11 and 12). - **Limits:** Truly temporary work can still end, and a permanent job can end with notice or pay for a reason stated in writing (Standing Order 12(1) and (3); 2021 SCMR 1213). The 1968 Ordinance applies to establishments with twenty or more workmen and not to government bodies with statutory service rules; in Punjab it has been replaced by the Labour Code 2026. ## In the Court’s words > "were being appointed for 83 days again and again and they performed their duties for more than nine months against permanent posts" (2024 SCMR 1852, para 8) > "The termination of service by a verbal order is alien to the labour and service laws of this country" (2024 SCMR 1852, para 10) > "The letter of appointment and the letter of termination both have much significance in service matters." (2024 SCMR 1852, para 9) ## The law it relies on - **Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968, Standing Order 12(3):** The services of a workman shall not be terminated, nor shall a workman be removed, retrenched, discharged or dismissed from service, "except by an order in writing which shall explicitly state the reason for the action taken". - **Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968, Standing Orders 1 and 12(1), (2); s.1(4):** A temporary workman does work likely to finish within nine months; a permanent workman does permanent work likely to last more than nine months after a three-month probation. A permanent workman is owed one month's notice or wages, a temporary workman, probationer or badli none. The Ordinance applies to establishments with twenty or more workmen. - **Punjab Labour Code, 2026, ss.138, 139, 146, 150 and 435:** Repeals the 1968 Ordinance in Punjab (s.435(1)(n)). Section 146(3) keeps the written-order rule in the same words; s.146(2) asks for a valid reason; s.150 gives 30 days' notice or pay; ss.138 and 139 limit fixed-term agreements and treat repeated ones on permanent work as permanent. ## What this does not mean - It does not mean a worker can never be let go. Truly temporary work ends, and a permanent job can end with notice or pay, for a reason given in writing. - It does not make every daily wager permanent. The work itself must be of a permanent nature; a genuinely temporary job stays temporary however long it lasts (2024 SCMR 1852, para 12). - It does not cover every job in the same way. The 1968 Ordinance applied to establishments with twenty or more workmen and not to government bodies with statutory service rules. Punjab now has the Labour Code 2026; outside Punjab, check the province's own standing orders law. ## Questions people ask ### Can an employer terminate an employee without notice in Pakistan? A permanent workman is owed one month's notice or one month's wages unless he is dismissed for misconduct (Standing Order 12(1)); in Punjab the Labour Code 2026 gives 30 days' written notice or 30 days' pay unless there is gross misconduct (s.150). Temporary workers, probationers and badlis are not owed notice (Standing Order 12(2)). Either way, the termination must be in writing with the reason. ### Is a verbal termination legal in Pakistan? No. The Supreme Court has said no labour or service law allows a verbal termination, even a plain one without misconduct (2024 SCMR 1852, para 10). ### Can daily wage employees be regularised? A daily wager or temporary worker doing work of a permanent nature that lasts beyond nine months can be treated as a permanent workman. In 2024 SCMR 1852 the Labour Court reinstated two such workers as regular employees with back benefits, and the Supreme Court left that in place (paras 2, 11 and 14). ### Can an employer fire someone without a reason? Not lawfully. The written order must explicitly state the reason (Standing Order 12(3); Punjab Labour Code 2026, s.146(3)). The employer does not always have to prove misconduct, but the reason has to be there in writing (2021 SCMR 1213). ### Where can a worker complain about wrongful termination? To the Labour Court, through a grievance petition. The workers in this case used section 33 of the Punjab Industrial Relations Act 2010; in Punjab the Labour Code 2026 now sets the remedy for a termination (s.146(7), read with s.335). Act fast: deadlines are strict. ## Sources - Town Administration v. Mohammad Khalid, 2024 SCMR 1852, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 28 June 2024, paras 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. No termination except by a written order stating the reason; workers re-appointed for 83 days again and again on permanent posts were unlawfully terminated by oral orders and rightly reinstated with back benefits. (verified against full text) - Allied Bank Limited v. Zulfiqar Ali Shar, 2021 SCMR 1213, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 26 April 2021. A termination simpliciter under Standing Order 12(3) is lawful when the written order explicitly states the reason; no misconduct inquiry is needed. (headnote read in FAI Judgment Search) - Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968, Standing Orders 1 and 12; s.1(4) (text checked in FAI Statute Search, 23 October 2026) - Punjab Labour Code, 2026, ss.138, 139, 146, 150 and 435 (text checked in FAI Statute Search (Punjab Gazette, 10 February 2026), 23 October 2026) ## What the reel says Can an employer fire a worker without a reason? No. A worker can be removed only by an order in writing that clearly states the reason (Supreme Court, 2024 SCMR 1852). The case: Chak Jhumra, near Faisalabad. Two men worked for the town administration for three and six years, hired for 83 days again and again. Then they were fired by word of mouth. No letter. No reason. The Labour Court put them back as permanent workers with back benefits. In June 2024 the Supreme Court agreed: 83 days again and again on permanent work is a way around the labour laws. The law: Standing Order 12, and in Punjab now the Labour Code 2026, section 146: in writing, with the reason. The catch: it is not a job for life. Truly temporary work can end, and a permanent job can end with a month's notice or pay. Keep proof: pay slips, salary in the bank, attendance. Send this to a worker who needs it. --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your own matter. Reading this page does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Review status: Pending advocate review. 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