Unfair Dismissal

Unfair dismissal is one of the most common complaints employees make when they are let go from their workplace. Where an unfair dismissal case is brought it is for your employer to show that the dismissal was fair in all the circumstances. 

Under employment law, employees have the right to not be unfairly dismissed from their job position. If you have worked for your employer constantly for two years, then you will have obtained legal rights to protect you from being unfairly dismissed.

How Do I Know If My Dismissal Was Unfair?

There are many circumstances in which a dismissal can be considered unfair. For example, if you feel like there was no valid reason behind your dismissal, or you believe your employer did not follow the correct procedure when they dismissed you. No two cases are ever the same and if you are unsure our employment solicitors will be able to help you figure out if you have a claim. 

What Is Considered An Unfair Reason?

If you have been working for your employer for at least 2 years, or if you are pregnant then you are protected from unfair dismissal. The Tribunal will always look at all the circumstances surrounding your dismissal when deciding if it was unfair. 

There are some instances when dismissal is automatically considered to be unfair, including:

• You are pregnant or on maternity leave
• You asked for/refused to give up your legal working rights
• You took action on a health and safety issue
• You work in a shop or betting shop and refused to work on a Sunday
• You are a trade union member and took part in trade union activity including industrial action lasting 
• Resigned and gave the correct notice period
• Tried to enforce your right to receive working tax credits
• You need time off for jury service
• Whistleblowing
• You didn’t declare a spent conviction
• You are being discriminated against

This is not an exhaustive list and you can be fairly dismissed even if you fall into one of those categories. Additionally, you can still be unfairly dismissed if you don’t fit into any of those categories, it will depend on your circumstances. 

When Can An Employer Fairly Dismiss An Employee?

There are grounds on which an employer can fairly dismiss an employee. These include:

• Capability – this is where your health and ability are not up to the standards as expected from the job role
• Conduct – Examples include being constantly late or absent from work, or disruptive and abusive to colleagues
• Redundancy – where the job role is no longer viable and you have been fairly selected for dismissal
• Some other substantial reason

Did My Employer Use The Right Procedure?

When considering unfair dismissal, you must also consider whether your employer used the correct procedure when dismissing you. For example, did your employer go through a selection process when selecting you for redundancy? Or were you given warnings or performance reviews if your employer did not consider your work to be good enough?

How Can Monarch Solicitors help?

We understand that this can be a distressing time. We can advise and support you on all aspects of unfair dismissal.

Our specialist employment solicitors have decades of experience dealing with employment issues. They are well equipped to deal with a whole manner of different cases no matter how big or small. 

Our team have had great success negotiating settlement offers, taking claims to the Employment Tribunal, and many more. Every person we represent receives the same high quality of treatment and personal service.

Legal Costs & Service Transparency

If you are considering taking Court action due to a breach of employment law the legal costs should be weighed against the amount likely to be received in damages.

We know it’s important to your business that the legal costs of the dispute are kept under control so as to not affect your cash flow.

We’ll not only ensure that you’re aware of costs implications from the outset, we’ll provide you with step-by-step cost estimates or fixed fees for each stage of the work. We’ll also consider funding options to suit your business needs so you can be sure that our legal services are cost effective.

For more information regarding legal funding options, please click here for more information.

About our Employment Team

At Monarch Solicitors, our employment lawyers have vast experience, expertise, and knowledge in resolving all kinds of domestic and international employment disputes, whether it be complex or technical or simply a disagreement over pay and working conditions.

We have particular expertise in relation to the following areas:

• Bullying and harassment
• Constructive dismissal
• Discrimination
• Employee grievance
• Employment tribunal representation
• Equal pay disputes
• Garden leave
• Maternity and family rights
• Redundancy
• Restrictive covenants
• Settlement agreements
• Unpaid wages
• Whistleblowing

Contact our Employment Solicitors

Our expert employment lawyers are available to discuss your unfair dismissal claims.

Please contact our employment advisors for immediate assistance by sending an email to us at [email protected] and one of our employment solicitors shall call you back. 

Alternatively, please call our employment solicitors in Manchester on 0330 127 8888 for a no obligation discussion.

Monarch Solicitors are a leading UK law firm and our award-winning Manchester solicitors, London solicitors and Birmingham solicitors offer their legal expertise nationally and internationally.

We are also able to leverage an international network spanning across Hong Kong, Turkey and Dubai to provide seamless assistance with cross-border matters relating to unfair dismissal.