Unfair dismissal
If your employer does not have a fair reason for your dismissal, you may be able to bring a statutory claim for unfair dismissal.
Fair reasons the employer may use to dismiss someone include capability, misconduct or redundancy.
What is unfair dismissal?
Employees who have been employed for one year or more have a right not to be unfairly dismissed.
In order to dismiss fairly, an employer must:
- have a fair reason for dismissal; and
- the dismissal must follow proper procedures and be fair in all the circumstances.
Potentially fair reasons for dismissal are:
- capability;
- conduct;
- redundancy;
- where continuing to work would contravene an enactment; and
- some other substantial reason.
Once it is established that the dismissal falls within one of those potentially fair reasons, it is necessary to consider the fairness of the dismissal in the circumstances. This will involve an assessment of (amongst other things):
- for misconduct dismissals, whether a reasonable investigation was conducted;
- for poor performance dismissals, whether the employee was warned as to their performance and given an opportunity to improve; and
- for redundancies, whether the employee was warned and consulted, whether there was an objective and fair selection process and whether alternative employment was considered.
If you have been unfairly dismissed, then you will be entitled to a basic award, based on age and length of service (approximately) £280 for each year of employment (though not where a statutory redundancy payment has been paid) and a compensatory award based on your losses up to a maximum of £56,800. A Tribunal will award the compensatory award on a just and equitable basis, making a similar assessment as referred to above for wrongful dismissal.
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Unfair dismissal Fact Sheet