Unfair Dismissal: What is unfair dismissal?

The Employment Law & HR Podcast

This episode 223 of the podcast I bring you an introduction to the law regarding unfair dismissal. This is the first of a mini series that will focus on all of the key aspects of unfair dismissal, including everything you need to know to really get to grips with dismissals and what constitutes a fair dismissal.

It will assist both employers who may be looking at making dismissal decisions and employees who may have been dismissed and are unsure if the decision is fair or not.

In this episode I will cover:

• The history of unfair dismissal
• How unfair dismissal started in the early 1970’s
• What it is and where you will find the law
• The fundamental difference between Unfair Dismissal and Constructive Unfair Dismissal
• The qualifying period for unfair dismissal
• Unfair dismissal claims with no qualifying period of service
• Claims for Automatic Unfair Dismissal
• The time limit for claims
• Circumstances when an employer must provide written reasons for an employees dismissal

Action Points

Whenever you are considering dismissing an employee regardless of their length of service you should ensure that as a minimum you communicate the reason for termination to the employee. Employees have rights for automatic unfair dismissal in certain circumstances regardless of their service length and communicating the reason to them is likely to minimise the risk of drawing the wrong inference as to why.

Helpful Links

Introduction to Constructive Unfair Dismissal: Episode 18

Focus on Constructive Unfair Dismissal: Episode 21

Employee who did not receive dismissal letter wins unfair dismissal claim

Employment Rights Act 1996

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