There are many reasons for which you can claim unfair dismissal.
Sometimes your dismissal will automatically be deemed to be unfair, for example; dismissal relating to a pregnancy or a dismissal related to a disibility.
However in all other cases there is a 2 step process:
You have to state that the dismissal could have been unfair
The burden shifts to your employers to show that they had a fair reason for dismissing you
The 5 Fair Reasons
1.You do not have the capability or qualifications to do your job to the required standard
2. Your conduct is unbefitting and your employers have given you sufficient verbal and written warnings yet you have done nothing to improve
Your employer has given you the opportunity to appeal and you have either not taken it or have tried and been unsuccessful.If you have appealed and been unsuccessful, you may still be able to appeal further. Contact us for more details.
3. Your employer is making redundancies and has followed a proper and fair procedure in selecting those to be made redundant
If you feel that your selection for redundancy has not been fair, please contact us for a free discussion about your case.
4. It has now become illegal for you to carry out your job, for example you are employed as a driver and you have now had your licence taken away for driving offences.
5. Some other substantial reason but the employer must convince a tribunal that this has been fair
Eligibility
To be eligible for Unfair dismissal you must fulfil the following criteria:
To find out more about what each of these mean click on the links above
This is a basic breach of contract and can only be brought where your employer has breached a term of your contract of employment for example not giving you wages you were owed. There is no compensation element to this, you can only recover what you are owed and nothing more.
AM I AN EMPLOYEE?
To class as an employee and therefore be eligible for unfair dismissal, you must be employed under a contract of employment rather than a contract for services. This means that you can’t be self employed or a contractor. If you can answer yes to the questions below, it is likely that you are an employee:
1. If your ‘employer’ tells you he wants you to do something, do you have to do it?
2. Does your ‘employer’ provide you with all the equipment you need to do your job?
3. Does your ‘employer’ pay your tax for you?
4. Does your ‘employer’ dictate your working hours to you?
If you can answer yes to the above then it is very likely that you are an employee.
HAVE I BEEN DISMISSED?
Generally people know if they have been dismissed because they will have been asked to leave their job by their employer.
However there are certain circumstances where you can claim what is known as constructive dismissal if your working conditions have become so bad or out of line with what you originally agreed so as to render your contract as void. Examples of this could be that you agreed to work there on a salary of £24,000 per annum and they have now dropped your wage to £20,000 per annum without your consent. It doesn’t need to be as drastic as this, but you do need to show that your employers have acted so unreasonably that they have invalidated your contract.
HAVE I GOT 1 YEARS CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT?
This means that there cannot be any breaks in your employment. If you worked somewhere for 6 months, left to work somewhere else for 3 months then returned to your original employer and have now been there for 9 months, even though in total you have done 15 months with that employer, you only have 9 months continuous employment and so you will need to remain there for another 3 before you are eligible to claim unfair dismissal.
AM I BELOW THE NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE?
This is generally considered to be 65 for most employments. Occasionally the retirement age may be higher in certain professions, but you would need to be able to prove this.
AM I IN AN EXCLUDED CLASS?
This generally only applies to the Police, Armed Forces and Mariners although there are a few others but these are very rare.
