Fired for poor performance without warning
What the law says about dismissing employees The Employment Rights Act 1996 lists five fair reasons for dismissal: conduct capability redundancy statutory ban some other substantial reason Poor performance, also referred to as capability, can be a reason for… Read on
Unfair dismissal compensation
To bring an unfair dismissal compensation claim, an employee must have worked for the employer for two or more years. There are a few exceptions, e.g. if the claim relates to automatic unfair dismissal, discrimination or whistleblowing. How is unfair… Read on
Surge in New Coronavirus-related Employment Issues
As businesses struggle to deal with the fallout from the pandemic, claims made by employees against their employers in respect of unfair treatment are on the increase. Latest figures suggest employers are breaching employment law rules According to the Ministry… Read on
New cap on public sector exit payments set to be introduced
Last month, the government finally published draft regulations setting out how it intends to limit pay-offs to public sector workers, nearly four years after it first said it would tackle the issue of six-figure termination packages. On 10 April, the… Read on
Employment tribunal compensation limits to rise from April 2019
From 6 April 2019, new increased compensation limits for employment tribunal claims will come into force. This means it will become more expensive for employers to make staff redundant or dismiss them for other reasons. What are the changes? the… Read on
Unfair to dismiss bus driver for failing drugs test
An employment tribunal has ruled that a bus driver was unfairly dismissed when his employer dismissed him for gross misconduct after he failed a drugs test. There were no indications that the driver had been under the influence of drugs… Read on
Employer’s disciplinary appeal failure could be constructive dismissal
The Court of Appeal recently reiterated that the effect of a successful disciplinary appeal by an employee against his dismissal was that the dismissal effectively “vanished” and his employment was restored. He should be treated as if he had never… Read on
Right to work dismissals: EAT suggests employer should always give right of appeal
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has overturned an employment tribunal’s decision that a dismissal was fair, notwithstanding that the employer offered no right of appeal against its decision to dismiss. Mr Afzal had been employed since 2009 and was a… Read on
Series of acts damaged trust and confidence and amounted to gross misconduct
An employer is entitled to terminate the employment contract without notice or pay in lieu of notice where there is an act or omission by the employee which amounts to gross misconduct (known as “summary dismissal”) . The crucial question… Read on
Employer liable for discrimination even though it didn’t know conduct was linked to disability
The Court of Appeal recently had to decide whether it had been an act of disability discrimination for an employer to dismiss an employee for misconduct which it did not know at the time, was related to the employee’s disability?… Read on
Constructive dismissal: Court of Appeal decision on “last straw” principle
A recent decision from the Court of Appeal has made it clear that a series of events can add up to a breach of contract serious enough to allow an employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal, even when they… Read on