Unfair dismissal
If you have completed 1 year of continuous service with your employer you are entitled by law to protection against unfair dismissal.
Basically, your employer must be able to demonstrate that your dismissal was justified. The employer is considered to have acted reasonably if the dismissal concerns any of the following criteria:
Capability or qualifications for the job (covering the employer for situations where employees are incapable of performing the tasks required due to illness, incompetence, etc)
Misconduct (of almost any nature, such as: disobedience, dishonesty, breach of good faith, violence, tardiness, absence without prior consent, etc. )
Redundancy (see Redundancy section)
Legal requirements of the job (covering the employer in cases where the employee would be breaking a law by continuing his work - e.g. a professional driver has received a driving ban)
Some other substantial reason (e.g. irresolvable clash of personalities, employee’s refusal to accept changes in working practice, etc.)
To qualify for unfair dismissal you must meet the following criteria:
Be working full or part time (any number of hours), not self-employed
Have completed 1 year’s continuous service (continuous employment carries on during sick leave, holidays and maternity leave)
Be below 65 or below the normal age of retirement for your job at the time of dismissal
Have finished working for the employer less than 3 months ago (i.e. the employee has three months from the date of dismissal to make the claim)
There are some exceptions to the 1 year’s continuous employment requirement. The dismissal is automatically unfair if it is due to:
Pregnancy
Sex race or disability discrimination (employees should claim for discrimination, not unfair dismissal, as this will win higher compensation if successful
Asserting rights for Equal Pay
Observing health and safety rules
Enforcing a statutory right
Joining a Union or taking part in any of its activities
Refusing to join a union
Compensation for unfair dismissal
1. Reinstatement
The employment tribunal places the employee in their old job, paying compensation for the loss of wages incurred.
2. Re-engagement
The employee is placed in a similar job with the same employer. This is rare as Employment Tribunals are wary of forcing an employer to accept an employee back into the company.
3. Compensation
The most common outcome if the employee wins his or her case, compensation is split into basic award and compensatory award.
The basic relates to the employee’s age, years of service and average weekly pay.
The Compensatory Award is a maximum of £56,800 and is intended to compensate the employee for financial losses incurred as a result of the dismissal. These might be as a result of:
Loss of wages
Future loss of wages (imagined time employee might out of work)
Loss of perks
How dismissed (if dismissed in such a way that makes it harder for the employee to find new work)
Loss of employment protection (employee will have to work for one year with new employer to gain unfair dismissal protection, this is compensated)
Loss of pension rights
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