Unfair Dismissal

If you have worked for your employer for two or more years (known as the ‘qualifying period’), your employer has to dismiss you from your employment in a fair manner. Unless the below criteria are met, it is likely the Employment Tribunal will rule your dismissal unfair:

• You were dismissed for one of the following five fair reasons: capability or qualifications, conduct, redundancy, breach of a statutory duty or restriction, or ‘some other substantial reason” (SOSR). Examples of SOSR include a breakdown in trust and confidence or organisational restructuring; and
• The Employment Tribunal determines that the employer acted reasonably in dismissing you for the potentially fair reason.

If you are being dismissed for reasons of misconduct or poor performance, your employer is expected to adhere to the practices set out in the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures  before making the final decision to end your employment. The Employment Tribunal will consider whether your employer followed the Acas Code when concluding whether or not they acted reasonably when dismissing you.

If you are dismissed in relation to any of the below reasons, your dismissal will be deemed automatically unfair and you can bring an Employment Tribunal claim without having worked for your employer for two or more years:

• pregnancy and childbirth;
• parental leave;
• health & safety reasons;
• whistleblowing;
• victimisation;
• acting as a representative;
• seeking flexible working;
• jury service; and
• taking part in protected industrial action.

If you win your claim, the Employment Tribunal will order your employer to pay you compensation. This is known as an award and comprises of:

1. The basic award – this is based on a formula that considers your age, length of service, and the amount of a week’s pay (subject to a statutory cap).  
2. The compensatory award – the just and equitable compensation for the economic loss you have experienced due to the unfair dismissal. This will include any salary, pension, and other benefits lost.

The Employment Tribunal can uplift the compensatory award by up to 25% if you can prove your employer did not follow the Acas Code when dismissing you for misconduct or poor performance.

Wrongful dismissal is where an employee is dismissed in a way that is in breach of their employment contract. Unlike unfair dismissal, the Employment Tribunal will not take into consideration whether the dismissal was ‘fair’ or not.

Grounds for a wrongful dismissal claim include:

• Your employer has breached the notice period stipulated in your employment contract.
• Your fixed-term or specific task contract has been terminated before its expiry.
• The disciplinary or redundancy processes and procedures set out in your employment contract have been breached.

Constructive dismissal occurs when, due to the actions of their employer, an employee feels they have no choice but to resign. Constructive dismissal can be the result of your employer not paying you on time (or at all), discrimination and/or bullying, or making unreasonable changes to your working conditions or job description.