Sacked without notice
I was working for an English-language school in Tokyo and got fired without any notice at all. My one-year contract doesn't expire for four more months. Can they do that?
YES and no. In the short term, employers fire workers for good reasons, bad reasons and for no reason. An employer must have a very good reason to fire an employee for it to hold up in a court of law, particularly in the middle of the term of an employment contract. Such reasons include excessive tardiness or absence. If performance is the reason, it must be extremely poor performance.
What can you do if you think you've been unfairly dismissed? Lots. First of all, refuse the dismissal explicitly both verbally and in writing, saving a copy for your records. Then while you, your union or your lawyer prepare a strategy to fight the dismissal, make sure to show up for work at your ordinarily scheduled hours, even beyond your official dismissal date.