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Unfair Dismissal
 Dismissals are only fair if an employer acts reasonably in dismissing the employee for a valid reason, which includes following an appropriate procedure. Employment Tribunals can order that the employee is to be re-employed by the employer and may make a basic award plus a compensatory award, reflecting immediate and future loss of earnings. For certain categories, there is no upper limit on the amount of compensation a Tribunal may award.
To present a claim for unfair dismissal, the employee must meet certain requirements. The employee must be dismissed and
- be an employee and not a worker,
- have been employed for at least one year, and
- is below the normal retirement age.
There are some exceptions to the one-year qualifying period. If the dismissal was for an ‘automatically unfair’ reason there is no qualifying service period. For example, an employee who has been dismissed for a maternity related reason could bring a claim even if she had only been employed for, say, two weeks.
The potentially fair reasons for dismissal contained within the employment legislation are:
- capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory illegality,
- or some other substantial reason, such as business re-organisation or because an employee knew from the outset they were recruited for short-term maternity leave cover.
Unfamiliar situations do face employers and employees. We have the answers to questions such as:
- I’ve handed in my notice but I want to change my mind. Can I withdraw my resignation?
- If we dismiss someone for downloading pornography at work will this be considered to be unfair dismissal?
- I’ve heard about claims for ‘constructive’ dismissal. What does this mean?
- We follow the statutory dismissal, disciplinary and grievance policies. Is this procedure sufficient to make fair dismissals?
If you are an employee or employer concerned that a dismissal may be unfair please contact us for help.
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