Labour Law
Court Authority to Reinstate Workers Dismissed Arbitrarily
This summary addresses the scope of the trial court’s authority where dismissal is found arbitrary under Jordanian labour law, notably its option to order reinstatement or award monetary compensation. It also explains procedural limits such as the filing deadline and practical consequences of a finding of arbitrariness.
Updated: 26 March 2026
Prepared and reviewed by: Ashraf Al-Khawaja
Meaning of Unfair Dismissal and Sources
Jordan’s Labour Law (No. 8/1996) does not expressly define “unfair dismissal,” whereas international and regional instruments characterize it as termination without lawful justification. In practice, a dismissal is treated as unfair when it falls outside the legitimate bounds for exercising the right to terminate employment, assessed by the presence of a lawful reason and compliance with statutory procedures.
Protected Situations and Typical Violations
The Labour Law lists circumstances in which termination is prohibited (for example certain stages of pregnancy, military or reserve service, and specified leaves), and dismissal in those situations qualifies as arbitrary. Statutory protections and judicial practice also reflect the imbalance of bargaining power, so dismissals without justification or without required notices and formal grounds are common forms of violation.
Legal Remedies: Compensation or Reinstatement
The relevant Labour Law provision empowers the competent court, upon finding an arbitrary dismissal, either to order the worker’s reinstatement or to award monetary compensation. Compensation is calculated on statutory bases linked to the last wage and should include notice pay and other statutory entitlements. The court retains discretionary power to select the appropriate remedy according to the case’s circumstances.
Procedural Limits and Burden of Proof
An important procedural constraint is the filing deadline—commonly cited as sixty days in the discussed provision—which is treated as a forfeiture period; if missed, the right to seek reinstatement is lost, although compensation claims may remain subject to case-law nuances. As for the burden of proof, courts exercise fact-finding discretion: generally the claimant must submit evidence of arbitrariness, while tribunals evaluate the presented proof and determine whether the employer has justified the dismissal.
Judicial Trends and Practical Impact
Jurisprudence in Jordan shows that trial courts exercise broad discretionary authority in determining whether a dismissal is arbitrary and in choosing the appropriate remedy, with a practical tendency in many rulings to award compensation rather than reinstate. Decisions also emphasize the need for reliable evidence linking the dismissal to lawful reasons, and recognize that the specific Labour Law provision confers powers that differ from general civil procedure rules.
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Sources and references
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