UNFAIR DISMISSAL

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An employer is entitled to terminate employment however any termination must be carried out in a reasonable manner. It may be reasonable to terminate someone’s employment if they cannot do their job properly or as a result an act of serious misconduct or if they are unable to carry out their work for any other reason.

Employment termination may be by way of redundancy if an employer no longer needs someone to carry out a particular type of work, and employees with more than two years continuous service are entitled to redundancy pay. If the redundancy is a sham then there may be a case for a claim.

In all cases involving termination of employment an employer is required to be fair and reasonable which usually includes issuing warnings about unacceptable behaviour if he is to avoid legal action. Prior to termination of employment an employer is required to investigate the circumstances thoroughly and be able to justify his actions and if he fails to do so a claim for compensation can be made to The Employment Tribunal.

To claim compensation the employment must normally have been for one year or more and the claimant must be below normal retiring age. To justify termination of employment an employer must prove that it was for one of five permitted reasons which are conduct, capability, redundancy, illegality or for some other substantial reason.

Compensation awarded for unfair dismissal claims is divided into the Basic Award and the Compensatory Award. The basic award is capped at £8,100 and depends on age and length of service. The maximum compensatory award is £55,000 and is intended to compensate the employee for financial loss relating to the dismissal, including expenses and loss of benefits.

The time limit for filing a claim in the Employment Tribunal is 3 months from the date of termination of the contract. If the employee does not give the employer any notice the effective date of termination is the date on which the termination of employment takes effect. If the employee does give notice then the effective date of termination is the date on which the notice expires. The tribunal can exercise discretion and in appropriate circumstances can extend the time limit for making an application for compensation where it was not reasonably practicable to file the claim in time.