If the incompetence was wilful then it should be dealt with as misconduct, rather than a performance issue, and if this is gross misconduct then the individual can potentially be dismissed for this one-off act.
However, assuming that it was not intentional or wilful, then it will normally be difficult to dismiss for a single act of incompetence. This is because the purpose of a performance improvement policy is to support the employee to improve and to allow them time and opportunity to improve. Only if their performance does not improve can dismissal be justified. Despite this, in very rare cases dismissal can be justified if the incompetence had particularly serious or hazardous consequences, but this will need to be considered on a case by case basis. We would recommend you seek legal advice on this.
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