Unfair dismissal solicitors

For a dismissal to be fair the reason must be one of the potentially fair reasons in law, which include reasons related to the capability or qualifications of the employee, reasons related to the conduct of the employee, and redundancy.

Some dismissals are automatically unfair, and these are generally where the dismissal is for asserting a statutory right, for a reason which is to do with pregnancy or maternity leave or the other family-friendly rights, pay and working hours, including the minimum wage, trade union membership, whistle-blowing, being a part-time or fixed-term employee, or for a health and safety-related reason.

A dismissal can be judged as unfair if the employer has not acted reasonably. A dismissal can be unfair if the employer did not follow a fair procedure even if there would otherwise be a good reason for the dismissal.

Protection from unfair dismissal applies only to people classed as employees, not to all workers.

Employees need two years of continuous employment with the same employer before they are protected from unfair dismissal, unless the dismissal is for one of the automatically unfair reasons that do not require a qualifying period to make a claim.

Strict time limits apply to making an employment tribunal claim.

Compensation for unfair dismissal consists of a basic award, which is related to statutory redundancy payments, plus a compensatory award. The maximum amount for compensatory awards is index-linked but in unfair dismissal cases the employee will usually not be able to recover more than one year’s pay.

We can help in a number of ways:

• We can tell you whether we think you can make an employment tribunal claim.
• We can give you formal legal advice about your situation and the options available to you.
• Sometimes we may be able to negotiate with your employer on your behalf to try and resolve the situation.
• We can act for you in making an employment tribunal claim, preparing the case and representing you at the tribunal.

In all cases the starting point is an informal discussion with one of our employment law specialists who can tell you how we can help you.

We offer a free initial consultation by telephone for most employment law matters, so we can give you an idea of whether you have a potential claim or a case where we can help you. If a specialist is not available when you call, you can make an appointment for a call back.

We can undertake employment tribunal claims on a no win no fee basis where we assess the chances of success are good enough.

Contact us to arrange to speak to an employment law specialist to see if we can help you.

We are a national law firm and represent clients from across England and Wales from our offices in London, Hertfordshire and Northampton.

More contact information, and office addresses.

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Our employment law solicitors have many years of experience and have represented people in hundreds of employment law cases.

The solicitors and legal team at Bishopsgate Law.

Information about our fees and charges.