After being fired, an employee is protected against unfair dismissal Two years continuous service. If the employee started their job prior to 6 April 2012 then only one years’ of continuous service is needed.

If an employee feels they were unfairly fired, they can complain to the Employment Tribunal Within 3 months, minus 1 day From the date they are fired or terminated from their employment.

In certain situations, dismissal may be automatically deemed unfair.

What is unfair dismissal?

Dismissal usually occurs when an employer terminates an employee’s contract of work. Normally, a dismissal will be considered fair if it can be shown that it is related:

an employee’s misconduct (eg, theft, poor attendance or violence).
the employee’s lack of capability (ie: poor performance or qualification).
Genuine redundancy
An employee must drive, but their driving privileges have been revoked.
Some other reason, such as the employee refusing to accept changes to his employment terms.

If the reason for dismissal doesn’t fall under one of the above categories, the dismissal could potentially be considered unfair. In some cases, dismissing employees is not an automatic unfair act.

What is an automatic unfair dismissal

An automatic unfair dismissal refers to situations in which an employee is dismissed because of a reason that is protected under the law. Dismissals that relate to:

Affirming a statutory right
maternity/paternity Please leave
parental/adoption leave
Request to be paid minimum wage
pregnancy
trade union activities
Protected disclosure (ie whistleblowing).
Take action to take control health and safety issue (eg complaining about unsafe work conditions)

If the reason for firing an employee was one of these reasons (non exhaustive), then the dismissal is automatically unfair. There is a difference between an unfair dismissal or an automatic unfair dismissal. The former is available to all employees, regardless of their length of service. If you’re unsure about the above grounds, Ask a lawyer.

Unfair dismissal can have devastating consequences

An Employment Tribunal may find that a dismissal is automatically unfair. If the employer fails to defend the claim, the employee will be awarded unfair dismissal. An employer might have to either reinstate the employee (ie, give them their job back), or re-engage them (ie reemploy them into a new job) and pay them compensation.

Give a fair reason, follow a fair process

Only gross misconduct Fair cause to dismiss an employee who is protected against unfair dismissal without notice. You need to provide at least two examples of less serious misconduct. formal warnings.

 Even if the employer is able to justify the dismissal of an employee for a reasonable reason, the dismissal could still be considered unfair if the proper and fair procedure was not followed. The amount of damages awarded to a successful claimant against a person who has unreasonably failed under the ACAS code can be increased by 25% if the employment tribunal finds you to have done so. You should always be aware of the procedures you must follow to discipline an employee, even if it does not involve dismissal. This may prove to be a valid reason for a later dismissal.

Conform to the employment contract

Check the employee’s identity before you take any disciplinary action. Employment contract Add your HR policies and procedures. These are the requirements.

Follow any data protection notices and policies you may have. It is important to inform employees about the data that you may have on them and what you plan to do with it. Data protection and data security policy (which outlines the policies, procedures and guidelines you follow in dealing with personal data) Employee privacy notice (which describes how personal information is collected, used, retained, and disclosed). You can find more information here Data protection and employees.

Contracts are a two-way relationship. A contract requires that an employee respects all terms. However, an employer is not allowed to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and mutual confidence between them. Employees can resign when they are not fulfilling their duty of trust or confidence. They can also claim benefits constructive dismissal.