Summary dismissal is the termination of an employment contract by the employer without giving notice or payment in lieu of notice . There needs to be gross misconduct or other fundamental breach of contract on the part of the employee for the employer to be able to do this lawfully – otherwise the dismissal will be in breach of contract . In any other situation, in order to bring employment to an end, the employer will need to give notice (or pay in lieu of notice) as required by the contract of employment.
Summary dismissal should therefore be distinguished from dismissal with notice. Either way, the dismissal will need to be fair and reasonable in order to avoid potentially liability for unfair dismissal.
If notice is not given but should have been, the employee will have a claim for wrongful dismissal.
Published in… Updates: For employers: Unfair and constructive dismissal | For employees: Unfair dismissal |
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