This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
A dismissal may be fair or unfair depending on the circumstances of the dismissal.
You need to work through the following steps to identify whether you can make a claim for unfair dismissal:-
When making a claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland), the claim for unfair dismissal must always be made within a very strict time limit - see under heading How to make a claim for unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal.
In all cases, if you make a claim of unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) and you win your claim, the employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) can award you compensation for the unfair dismissal from your employer and/or tell your employer to give you your job back. It is very rare, however, for tribunals to tell employers to give an employee their job back. It is much more usual for the tribunal to award compensation to the employee.
There are some employees who can never claim unfair dismissal. They are:-
For more details, see under heading Are you an employee or self-employed in Contracts of employment.
Generally you have to have worked for your employer for at least a year to claim unfair dismissal. However, there are special rules for people who have worked for their employer for less than a year. See under headings Step 4: what is the reason for the dismissal and is it one which means the dismissal is automatically unfair, and Step 3: have you been discriminated against.
You can't make a claim for unfair dismissal if you are forced to retire at the normal retirement age, as long as your employers have followed certain procedures.
Normal retirement age for most people, both men and women, is 65. For some people it may be higher than this, depending on your contract of employment. Normal retirement age should not usually be lower than 65, unless you work in the armed forces.
However, it is likely to count as unfair dismissal and age discrimination if your employers try to make you retire before the normal retirement age, or if they don't follow the proper procedures.
For more information about retirement and unfair dismissal, see Age discrimination at work.
You are dismissed when your employer brings the contract of employment to an end.
All the following count as dismissal:-
If you are an employee who wants to claim redundancy after a lay off or period of short time working, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on 
nearest CAB.
If you are in any doubt at all as to whether you have been unfairly dismissed, you must seek advice from an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because any claim for unfair dismissal must be made to an employment tribunal within three months of the date of the dismissal.
The following will not count as dismissal:-
If you are an employee in this situation you should consult immediately an experienced advisor, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
It is important to remember that what is called a ‘resignation’ may really be a dismissal. Whether the employee has resigned or they have been dismissed depends on who really terminated the employment contract.
Normally, if you resign, you bring the employment contract to end and so you have not been dismissed. However, there are circumstances where, although you have resigned, you will still be treated as being dismissed. This could be:-
If you have been forced under pressure to resign, you should consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you are in any of these situations you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you are suspended, for example, to await the outcome of a disciplinary hearing, your contract of employment will continue to run until either you resign or are dismissed.
If you are in this situation you should consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Where an employer has made an offer of a job to you, but subsequently changes their mind, you may be able to claim compensation if the job offer was unconditional. You may be able to claim compensation for giving up your old job.
If the job offer was conditional, for example, it was made subject to references or medical examination, and these were unsatisfactory, you will not be able to claim compensation.
Frustration of contract happens when an employee cannot fulfil their contractual obligations because of an unforeseen change of circumstances. If a contract has been frustrated, this means that it no longer exists and neither the employer nor the employee has any obligations under it. There is therefore no dismissal.
The two most common ways in which a contract may be frustrated are long-term sickness or injury of the employee, and imprisonment of the employee.
It is common for employers to claim that the employment contract has been frustrated when they are actually dismissing an employee unfairly. If your employer is trying to claim the contract has been frustrated, you must consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Constructive dismissal occurs if you resign because your employer breaches the employment contract, by taking action such as cutting your pay, changing your working conditions, and so on, and so makes it impossible for you to continue working.
Is very difficult to make a claim for constructive dismissal, and if you think it is impossible for you to carry on working you should seek help from an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because there is a time limit from the date of dismissal within which you must make a claim.
For more information in England, Wales and Scotland about your rights when your employer makes changes to your employment contract, see Changes to employment contracts in Employment fact sheets.
You may believe that you have been dismissed because of because of your sex, race, disability, religion, sexuality or age.This is discrimination. You can make a claim for discrimination to an employment tribunal (or industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) instead of, or in addition to, a claim for unfair dismissal. You do not have to have worked for any particular length of time to be able to claim discrimination.
If you have been dismissed for a discriminatory reason you may also have been unfairly dismissed as well. However, in order to claim unfair dismissal, you will need to have worked for your employer for one year.
If you have worked for your employer for at least a year, and want to make a claim for unfair dismissal as well as discrimination, you will have to show in your claim both that you were discriminated against and that your dismissal was unfair.
If you want to make a claim to an employment tribunal for dismissal and discrimination it is a good idea to get advice from an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau. The adviser will be able to help you with how to put your claim, and the time limits you have to do this in. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
For more information about race discrimination, see Taking action about race discrimination.
For more information about sex discrimination, see Taking action about sex discrimination.
For more information about discrimination because you're disabled, see Disability discrimination.
For more information about discrimination because of sexuality, see Discrimination because of sexuality.
For more information about age discrimination, see Age discrimination at work.
For more information about discrimination because of your religion, see Discrimination because of religion or belief.
In England, Wales and Scotland, see also What can I do if my employer treats me unfairly because of my religion or belief? and What can I do if my employer treats me unfairly because of my sexuality? in Employment fact sheets.
The reason for the dismissal decides what action you can take. The reason your employer has given you may not be the real reason for the dismissal.
In England, Wales and Scotland, in most circumstances, if your employer wants to dismiss you, they should follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures - see under heading Procedure your employer must follow when dismissing or disciplining you.
In Northern Ireland, in most circumstances if your employer wants to dismiss you, they should follow proper dismissal and disciplinary procedures laid down by law – see under heading Procedure your employer must follow when dismissing or disciplining you.
If the reason for the dismissal is any of those listed below, an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) will automatically decide that the dismissal was unfair. If you were dismissed for one of the following reasons you can still claim unfair dismissal regardless of how long you have worked for the employer and regardless of how old you are:-
For more information, see Parental rights at work
For more information about statutory employment rights, see Basic rights at work
If you think you may be dismissed if you report a danger to health and safety at the workplace, or if you think you have been dismissed for a health and safety reason, you should consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you have been dismissed for one of the above reasons and want to take a claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland), you should seek the help of an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because a claim to a tribunal must be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
If you have not been dismissed for one of the reasons listed above but have been dismissed for one of the following reasons, and have worked for your employer for at least a year, an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) will find that you have automatically been unfairly dismissed:-
If you think that the reason for your dismissal may be one of the above, you should immediately consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because a claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) must be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
If you have not been dismissed for one of the reasons above (see under heading Step four: What is the reason for the dismissal and is it one which means the dismissal is automatically unfair), then the dismissal may have been fair or unfair depending on the reason for it and the procedures followed by your employer in dismissing you. If the reason for the dismissal was not one of those above (see under heading Step four: What is the reason for the dismissal and is it one which means the dismissal is automatically unfair), you will have to have worked for one year for your employer in order to make a claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland).
Reasons for claiming unfair dismissal where you will have to have worked for one year to be able to claim are:-
It is important to remember that there is a three month time limit, starting from the date the employee is dismissed, during which s/he must make a claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) (see under heading What to consider if making a claim for unfair dismissal). If you are an employee in any of the above situations and wish to claim unfair dismissal you should consult immediately an experienced adviser for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
This may relate to the level of skill needed to do the particular job or to the fact that you have been ill and so your employer thinks you are not capable of doing the work.
Some employees who are ill may be protected by the Disability Discrimination Act.
If you have been dismissed for a capability reason, you should seek advice from an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because any claim to an employment tribunal needs to be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
You may be dismissed because you are not qualified, or are no longer qualified, to do your job. For example, if your job involves a lot of driving and you have lost your driving licence. Whether this will be a fair reason to dismiss you will depend on, in this case, how much driving the job involved, whether anyone else could have done the driving, how long you had lost your licence for, and so on. The employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) would decide whether the dismissal was fair or unfair, taking into account all the circumstances of the case.
If you have been dismissed for a reason to do with lack of qualifications, you should seek advice from an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because any claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) needs to be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
Certain types of behaviour by an employee are thought to be unacceptable and if the employee has behaved in this way, any dismissal as a result will probably be fair. Some forms of unacceptable behaviour are known as gross misconduct and include theft at work, violence at work, harassment (such as sexual or racial harassment) of other employees or customers, and breach of health and safety rules.
Others types of behaviour which have been found to be misconduct include the following list. Whether the dismissal which results from such behaviour is fair or not will depend on the circumstances of the case and the employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) would decide this taking into account all the circumstances of the case:-
If you have been dismissed for a reason to do with misconduct, you should seek advice from an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because any claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) needs to be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
Employers often claim that an employee is redundant when this is not true, and the employee has actually been unfairly dismissed. The law on whether the redundancy is genuine or not is very complex, and in order for a redundancy to be a fair reason for dismissal, an employer would need to show to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) that:-
If you have been dismissed for a reason to do with redundancy, you should seek advice from an experienced adviser as soon as possible, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because any claim to a tribunal needs to be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
The procedure your employer must follow when they dismiss you depends on the date of your dismissal.
The information in this section applies only to employees whose employer started taking disciplinary or dismissal action against them on or after 6 April 2009.
If your employer started taking disciplinary or dismissal action against you before this date, different rules apply and you should get advice from an experienced adviser. It's very important to do this straight away, as if you have been dismissed, it may mean your dismissal is automatically unfair and it will make a difference to the time limits within which you can make a claim to an employment tribunal.
You can get advice at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB. This is because any claim to a tribunal usually needs to be made within three months of the date of the dismissal.
If your employer takes disciplinary action or dismisses you from 6 April 2009 onwards, they should follow the procedures which are laid out in the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. They don't have to follow these procedures. However, if you decide to take your employer to an employment tribunal and you win your case, your employer could be ordered to pay you more compensation if they don't have a good reason for not following the Code.
If your employer follows the Code of Practice, their disciplinary and dismissal procedures will include the following steps:
If your employer is considering disciplinary action or dismissal, their first step should be to write to you setting out the problem.
Once your employer has contacted you in writing, they should also arrange a meeting at a reasonable time and place to discuss the problem. You have a legal right to ask someone to accompany you to the meeting - either a colleague from work or a trade union representative.
After the meeting, your employer should send you their decision about what they plan to do in writing. They should do this within a reasonable amount of time.
If you don't agree with your employer’s decision, your employer should give you the opportunity to appeal against it.
You don't have to appeal, but if you later decide to go to an employment tribunal and you win your case, the tribunal may reduce any compensation awarded to you as a result of your failure to appeal.
Your employer should arrange a further meeting to discuss your appeal.
After the appeal meeting, your employer should write to you and tell you their final decision.
If you're still not happy with your employer’s decision, you may want to make a claim to an employment tribunal.
Remember that, in most cases, you must make an application to an employment tribunal within three months of the date of the dismissal. If your application is received after this time limit, the tribunal will not usually accept it.
If they are dismissing you, in most cases your employer must give you a period of notice first. The law says most people should have a minimum period of notice. This will depend on how long you've worked for your employer.
Even if you don't have a legal right to a minimum period of notice, you will still be entitled to reasonable notice. This will often depend on how often you are paid, for example, weekly or monthly.
For more information about the procedures your employer should follow when they dismiss you, in England, Wales and Scotland see Resolving disputes at work. In Northern Ireland, see Dealing with grievances, dismissal and disciplinary action at work.
For more information about how much notice you're entitled to when you're dismissed from work, see Basic rights at work.
In most circumstances, if your employer wants to dismiss you or discipline you, they must follow proper dismissal and disciplinary procedures laid down by law. Before dismissing or disciplining you, your employer must:
After the meeting with you, or the appeal meeting if there is one, your employer must make a final decision about what they are going to do, and tell you what it is.
If you are not happy with your employer's decision and you think your rights have been ignored, you may be able to take your case to an employment tribunal. You must comply with the dismissal and disciplinary procedure first. If you do not, any future award you get from a tribunal may be reduced. If your employer does not follow the proper procedures, any dismissal will be automatically unfair and you will be able to make a claim for unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal (as long as you have worked for your employer for at least a year). If you win your case, the tribunal will increase the compensation awarded to you because your employer did not follow the procedure.
If they are dismissing you, in most cases your employer must give you a period of notice first. The law says most people should have a minimum period of notice. This will depend on how long you've worked for your employer.
Even if you don't have a legal right to a minimum period of notice, you will still be entitled to reasonable notice. This will often depend on how often you are paid, for example, weekly or monthly.
For more information about the procedures your employer must follow when dismissing or disciplining you, see What you need to know, Dealing with grievances, dismissal and disciplinary action at work.
For more information about how much notice you're entitled to when you're dismissed from work, see Basic rights at work.
If you think your employer did not follow proper procedures before dismissing you, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau, immediately. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB. This is because there is a three month time limit, from the date you are dismissed, during which you must make a claim for unfair dismissal to a tribunal.
To claim unfair dismissal, you must usually have worked for your employer for at least a year, unless the reason for your dismissal is one which is automatically unfair. For more information on reasons for dismissal which are automatically unfair, see under heading Step four: what is the reason for the dismissal.
The length of time you have been working for your employer is calculated in months and years, starting from the day you began to work for your employer, and ending on the date your employment comes to an end. For unfair dismissal purposes, only employment from the date of your sixteenth birthday counts towards length of service.
The date your employment comes to an end is:-
If you are not sure if you have worked for one year or not, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you were dismissed without being given the notice you are legally entitled to, your length of service is calculated by adding on the legal notice you should have been given, when you are working out how long you have worked for your employer.
But when you are working out time limits for a tribunal claim, your employment is treated as ending on the day you were dismissed.
For example, you are entitled to two weeks' legal minimum notice, and your employer has dismissed you without notice on 2 June. Your employment is still treated as ending on 2 June, when you are working out time limits for a tribunal claim. However, when working out your length of employment, it is calculated as if your employment had ended on 16 June.
The required legal minimum notice is:-
For more information in England, Wales and Scotland about your rights to notice when you are dismissed from work, see Notice of dismissal from work in Employment fact sheets.
If you are thinking about making a claim for unfair dismissal, you should consider the following points.
Compensation is normally made up of a basic award and a compensatory award.
For the basic award the tribunal gives:-
The maximum number of years which can be compensated is 20. The maximum amount of weekly gross pay which can be taken into account is £380. Any money earned above this sum is disregarded. The maximum basic award is £11,400 (£380 x 1.5 x 20), for a termination date on or after 1 October 2009.
The compensatory award is made to compensate for loss of earnings. This can include net pay, fringe benefits, overtime and bonuses. It can also include loss of pension rights and loss of statutory rights. The amount of any Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support the employee has received since the dismissal will be deducted from the award. The maximum compensatory award for loss suffered following a dismissal is £65,300 (for date of termination on or after 1 February 2010).
If you need further advice on the amount of any award you are likely to receive, and if you wish to make a claim to a tribunal, you must see an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. This is because there is a three month time limit during which you must make a claim to a tribunal.
Unless you think that your employer may be prepared to negotiate, making a successful claim to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) is probably the only way you can get your job back. However, very few tribunals order re-employment.
If you want to claim re-employment, you must consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. This is because a claim to an employment tribunal must be made within three months of the date of dismissal. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
The ACAS Arbitration Scheme (LRA Arbitration Scheme in Northern Ireland)is designed for straightforward unfair dismissal cases. ACAS claims that their scheme is quicker and more informal than a tribunal hearing, but, in opting for the scheme, you waive your right to go to an employment tribunal. There is also no right of appeal.
If you are considering using this scheme, you should consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. This is because a claim to an employment tribunal must be made within three months of the date of dismissal. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
An employee who believes that they were unfairly dismissed must make a complaint to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) within three calendar months of the date of dismissal.
There are some rules to extend the time limit if you are going through a dismissal or disciplinary procedure with your employer. These will depend on when you were dismissed.
For more information about making a claim to an employment tribunal when you have been dismissed, in England, Wales and Scotland, see Resolving disputes at work. In Northern Ireland, see Dealing with grievances, dismissal and disciplinary action at work.
The date of the dismissal for calculating the three months time limit will be:-
If you are unsure about which is the actual date of dismissal, the last day of work should be treated as the start of the three month time limit.
If you wish to make a claim, you must consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. This is because a claim to an employment tribunal must be made within three months of the date of dismissal. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
For more information in England, Wales and Scotland about your rights to notice when you are dismissed from work, see Notice of dismissal from work in Employment fact sheets.
If your employer does not give you the rights you are entitled to under your contract of employment, for example, your employer does not give you the correct notice of dismissal that you are entitled to under your contract, this is known as a breach of contract.
Your employer may pay you an amount of money as compensation instead of giving you notice of dismissal or allowing you to work out your notice. This is called pay in lieu of notice. If there is a term in your contract which allows your employer to pay you pay in lieu of notice instead of giving you notice, then provided you are paid the correct amount of pay in lieu, there will be no breach of contract.
If your employer does not give you the correct notice and does not pay in lieu instead, or does not pay the right amount of pay in lieu of notice, you may be able to claim compensation for the breach of the contract by making a claim for wrongful dismissal. You can make a claim for breach of contract to the employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland) at the same time as making a claim for unfair dismissal. Compensation for breach of contract will be in addition to any compensation you can also claim for unfair dismissal. Your employer should follow a proper dismissal procedure before dismissing you. Otherwise, the dismissal will be automatically unfair.
For more information about the procedures your employer should follow when they dismiss you, in England, Wales and Scotland, see Resolving disputes at work. In Northern Ireland, see Dealing with grievances, dismissal and disciplinary action at work.
You can claim compensation for breach of contract for other things, such as if your employer takes back your company car when it is a term of the contract that you have a company car for all the time that you are an employee (including your notice period).
If you are thinking about making a claim for unfair and/or wrongful dismissal, you should consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. This is because a claim to an employment tribunal must be made within three months of the date of dismissal. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
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