Unfair Dismissal
As an employee, if you feel that you have been unfairly dismissed from your employment, you may have a case to bring against your Employer. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (as interpreted by various government guidelines) outlines certain criteria which your Employer must adhere to and a failure to do so may mean you have been unfairly dismissed. We will advise you on your rights as an employee, taking into account your circumstances.
An employee need only demonstrate one year's continuous employment in order to qualify for making an unfair dismissal claim. In some cases a claim can be brought prior to that such as where there was been sexual discrimination. There is no lower age limit but in order to bring a claim for unfair dismissal, the employee must not have reached the normal retiring age for an employee holding his position, or 65 years old, if there is no normal retiring age.
Certain occupations are excluded from the right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. These include the armed forces and the police service..
Reasons for dismissal
There are five justifiable reasons for dismissing an employee;
- Redundancy
- Bad conduct of the employee
- Employee lacks the capability or qualifications to do the job he/she is employed to do
- Employee no longer being able to do his/her job because by doing so would contravene a statutory provision
- Some other substantial reason
If one of these five permitted reasons is established, the tribunal must then decide whether the employer acted reasonably in dismissing the employee.
Unless the employer proves one of the above categories, the termination of employment will be automatically unfair. It is to be noted however, that even if the employer does prove that the case comes under one of the above categories, it is still up to the Employment Tribunal to decide “in accordance with equity and the substantial merits of the case” whether the dismissal was fair or unfair.
The Employment Tribunal has the power to order that you be reinstated by your employer or, more usually, that you receive compensation. In some cases the compensation ordered can be high.
It is important to know that strict time limits apply to claims for unfair dismissal and accordingly if you think you have been treated unfairly by your employer you should contact one of our helpful team to make an appointment or to discuss any further details on the unfair dismissal procedures.
For more infomation please contact one of the following:
| Name | Position | Office |
| Patrick Langrishe | Partner | Budleigh Salterton |
| Craig Oliver | Solicitor | Exeter |
