Unfair Dismissal / Wrongful Dismissal

At Oxford Employment Law Solicitors we are every day advising employees and ex-employees about unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal.

Unfair dismissal is a dismissal which is unfair either because it is not for a potentially fair reason, or because it has not been carried out using a fair procedure.  Since the introduction of the statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedures, a mistake made by an employer in dismissing an employee may make the dismissal automatically unfair.

Redundancy is a type of dismissal.  As such, if the employer follows an unfair procedure, or if in reality the reason for the dismissal is not redundancy at all, then it is likely that any such dismissal will be unfair.

Constructive dismissal is a situation where the employee has resigned in response to the employer’s actions, in circumstances where it was not reasonable for the employee to continue working.  This may also amount to unfair dismissal, depending on the circumstances.

Generally, employees do not have the benefit of protection against unfair dismissal until they have been employed for a year (51 weeks in actual fact), but there are various circumstances in which this requirement does not apply.

Wrongful dismissal is a dismissal in breach of contract.  Usually this is where the employer has dismissed the employee without giving him/her the required notice.  This right does not require any minimum term of employment.

If you believe that you have a claim, or are in any doubt about your position, give us a call and we can discuss it over the phone to see if you have any case.  In certain circumstances we may be able to offer a no win no fee agreement to pursue your case.