Being dismissed from your job can be distressing, disruptive, and financially damaging. If you believe you were dismissed unfairly, you may be entitled to bring a claim and recover compensation. Strict time limits apply, and early advice can be crucial.
What is unfair dismissal?
An unfair dismissal occurs when an employer dismisses an employee without a valid reason. Employers must also follow proper procedures before dismissing an employee. These include providing warnings, conducting an investigation, and providing an opportunity to appeal.
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, fair reasons for dismissal include misconduct, incapability, or redundancy. Reasons outside of these categories may be classed as unfair. Some reasons are “automatically unfair”, such as pregnancy, trade union membership, and whistleblowing.
If an employer explicitly dismisses an employee, then that is an obvious dismissal. However, a dismissal can also occur where an employee resigns because the employer has fundamentally breached the implied duty of trust and confidence. For example, the employer may have failed to address bullying; made false allegations; or withheld payment. This is known as constructive dismissal.
How do you claim and what are the time limits?
In most cases, an employee must have at least two years’ continuous employment to bring a claim. This requirement does not apply where the dismissal was for an automatically unfair reason.
To make a claim for an unfair dismissal, you must first contact the statutory dispute resolution body, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). ACAS will contact your employer to explore alternative resolution options.
If no resolution is reached through the ACAS process, you can then submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal. You must usually submit a claim within three months of the “effective date of termination”, which means the date of explicit or constructive dismissal.
If your claim succeeds, you may receive a basic compensation award based on your age and length of employment, and further compensation to reflect other losses.
How We Can Help
If you are considering or currently involved in an unfair dismissal claim, we can provide full or specific services depending on your needs, including:
- Strategic Advice – we can advise you on the strength of your potential claim, as well as on procedural matters.
- Settlement Negotiations – we can help you to try and settle the matter by drafting a settlement offer letter to your employer.
- Claim Support – we can help you to submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal. We can also draft claim documents, such as your Employment Tribunal Particulars of Claim (ET1) and witness statements.
- Tribunal Representation – we can represent you at Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal hearings.
- Post-Hearing Support – if your claim is successful, we can assist with remedy hearings in which the level of financial compensation payable is decided. If your claim is unsuccessful, we can assist with appealing to the Employment Appeal Tribunal on a point of law, if appropriate.
Why Instruct Demstone Chambers
- Specialist barristers with extensive experience in employment law
- Direct access – no solicitor needed
- Flexible appointments, including evenings and weekends
- Virtual meetings where needed
- Clear and realistic advice on likely outcomes
- Cost-effective and tailored support
We work on direct access. This means you can instruct our barristers directly without going through a solicitor. This can save time and reduce costs, while still giving you access to specialist support. Find out more about our direct access offering here.
We act for clients across London, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford, Luton, and throughout the UK.
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