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Employment Litigation and the Basics of Unfair Dismissal

On Behalf of | Dec 9, 2015 | Articles, Employment Litigation

If you suddenly find yourself in a significant dispute with your employer, or place of employment, obtaining immediate legal advice from an experienced and skilled employment lawyer is crucial. Unfair dismissal has significant financial consequences for the individual involved, and can also have a damaging impact on his or her future prospects for employment.

While there are some circumstances in which an organization may have no choice but to suddenly dismiss an employee, it’s important to be aware of which situations classify the motion as an “unfair dismissal.” As an employer, most companies and organizations retain the right to dismiss their employees as and when they choose, so long as they can provide a reasonable and fair explanation of why the dismissal is taking place, and the dismissal itself follows “fair guidelines” for procedure.

What Constitutes Fair and Unfair Dismissal?

There is a marvelous deal of legal guidance and advice available today in regards to what can be classed as fair reason and procedure in employment dismissal. For instance, the group known as “ACAS” – The advisory, conciliation, and arbitration service, have published a guidebook that offer employees a general idea of the correct procedure to follow when they are faced with the last-resort action of dismissing an employee or employees.

Although the ACAS code is not enforced to a legal standard, most employment tribunals will take into account the effort an employer has made in following the given guidelines when they are determining if a dismissal is “unfair”.

Circumstances for Automatically Unfair Dismissal

Regardless of the perceived “reasonableness” of a situation, certain circumstances cause dismissals to be automatically classed as unfair. In these instances, a case can typically be brought against the employer in question with the help of an employment litigation lawyer. Circumstances in which dismissal can be considered automatically unfair may include:

  • Dismissing a woman because of pregnancy or reasons regarding maternity
  • Dismissal as a result of an employee joining a trade union
  • Dismissing employees that fail to work within conditions that display significant breaches of health and safety rules
  • Dismissing employees that have been “whistleblowing”
  • Dismissing individuals who take leave due to family reasons or emergency situations
  • Dismissals based on the fact that the employee is currently a part-time worker

The above list is just some of the circumstances in which a dismissal may be considered automatically unfair, and often employees are advised to speak to a specialist attorney about their situation if they feel they may be eligible to begin a case of employment litigation. If a company dismisses any employee unfairly, it could be subject to litigation. What’s more, if a business deviates from the law in dismissing an employee, that employee could be entitled to a compensatory award.

A Law Firm that Shows Results

The most important step for victims of unfair dismissal to take is receiving accurate legal advice from an experienced law professional. To discover more about the various issues involved within employment litigation and law, and to receive a free case consultation, contact Makarem & Associates at 310.312.0299, or email [email protected].