| Acas

It's important to understand what unfair dismissal is by law. This is because different rights might apply depending on the circumstances.

It might be unfair dismissal if an employee worked for their employer for at least 2 years and any of the following apply:

there was no fair reason for the dismissal
the reason was not enough to justify dismissing them
the employer did not follow a fair procedure

The fair procedure must follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, if it's to do with:

unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour ('misconduct')
performance ('capability'), unless it’s about illness

If the dismissal is because of another reason, it's a good idea to use the Code of Practice to inform the fair procedure.

Dismissal before someone has worked 2 years

If someone is dismissed before they have worked for their employer for 2 years, they will need to check what rights are available to them. This is sometimes known as 'short service dismissal'.

Depending on the reason for the dismissal, one of the following might apply:

automatically unfair dismissal
wrongful dismissal

Appealing a dismissal

If an employee thinks their dismissal was unfair and wants to challenge it, they can appeal through their employer's appeal process. The employer should tell them how to appeal.

Being able to appeal a dismissal is also part of the Acas Code of Practice.

The employee may want to speak to their trade union if they have one or get legal advice.

Find out more about appealing a dismissal

Automatically unfair reasons

Some things are 'automatically unfair' if they're the main reason for dismissing an employee.

These include:

making a flexible working request
being pregnant or on maternity leave
wanting to take family leave, for example parental, paternity or adoption leave
being a trade union member or representative
taking part in legal, official industrial action for 12 weeks or less, for example going on strike
asking for a legal right, for example to be paid the National Minimum Wage
doing jury service
being involved in whistleblowing
being forced to retire (known as 'compulsory retirement')
taking action, or proposing to take action, over a health and safety issue

An employee does not need 2 years' service to claim automatically unfair dismissal.

Unfair dismissal because of a health and safety issue

An employer must not cause someone 'detriment' if they:

reasonably believe being at work or doing certain tasks would put them in serious and imminent danger
take reasonable steps over a health and safety issue, for example complaining about unsafe working conditions
inform their employer about a health and safety issue in an appropriate way

Detriment means you experience one or both of the following:

being treated worse than before
having their situation made worse

Examples of detriment could be:

their employer reduces their hours
they experience bullying
they experience harassment
their employer turns down their training requests without good reason
they are overlooked for promotions or development opportunities

If an employee is dismissed and one of these health and safety issues is the main reason, it might be classed as 'automatically unfair'.

Unfair dismissal because of industrial action

Employees cannot be dismissed for taking part in industrial action if:

it's called as a result of a properly organised ballot
it's about a dispute between them and their employer (for example, about terms and conditions)
the employer receives a legally required, detailed notice about the industrial action at least 7 days before it begins
they take part in the action at any time within the 12 weeks from when it began

Non-union members have the same rights as union members not to be dismissed if they take part in legal, official industrial action.

After 12 weeks, employees could be dismissed for taking part in industrial action if the employer has tried to settle the dispute. For example, the employer may have asked Acas to help find a solution.

Find out more about collective conciliation

Constructive dismissal

If an employee feels they have no choice but to resign because of something very serious their employer has done, they might be able to claim for 'constructive dismissal'.

The legal term is 'constructive unfair dismissal'.

Find out more about constructive dismissal

Making a claim to an employment tribunal

If the employee has tried to appeal and wants to take it further, they may want to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

An employee usually has the right to make an unfair dismissal claim to an employment tribunal if:

they have 'employee' employment status
they've worked for their employer for 2 years

If they've been dismissed for an 'automatically unfair' reason it does not matter how long they've worked for their employer.

If someone thinks they've been discriminated against

If someone thinks they've been unfairly dismissed because of race, sex or another 'protected characteristic', this could be discrimination. They could make a claim to an employment tribunal for both discrimination and unfair dismissal.

For the discrimination claim, they do not need to have worked for their employer for 2 years.

Find out more about discrimination and the law

When to make a claim

There are strict time limits for making a claim to an employment tribunal. Someone has 3 months minus 1 day from the date their employment ended.

In almost all cases, the date someone's employment ends is either:

the last day of their notice period
the day they were dismissed if the employer did not give notice

Find out more about:

Wrongful dismissal

A 'wrongful dismissal' is when an employer has breached an employee's contract. It's usually to do with notice or notice pay.

Examples of wrongful dismissal can include:

dismissing an employee without giving them a notice period or notice pay
not giving someone the full notice period they're entitled to

If an employee wants to make a claim for wrongful dismissal, it does not matter how long they've worked for their employer.

Contact the Acas helpline

If you have any questions about unfair dismissal, you can contact the Acas helpline.