Unfair Dismissal Law

Unfair dismissal law is intended to safeguard employees from being dismissed from their job without a valid and justifiable reason. In general, a case can only be brought under unfair dismissal law if the employee has been working for the business for over a year, unless the employee is dismissed for reasons such as;

Exercising (or attempting to exercise) a statutory employment right (such as maternity leave).
Becoming pregnant.
Joining (or refusing to join) a trade union.
Whistleblowing.
Any form of discrimination.
Health and Safety issues.

As unfair dismissal law is statutory rather than common law, the cases which can be considered as unfair dismissal are very tightly defined. Many cases which may be considered to be clear examples of unfair dismissal are actually best approached through a different area of employment law, such as age discrimination legislation, racial discrimination law or sexual harassment regulations.

Unfair Dismissal Law: Constructive Dismissal

If your employer’s behaviour has made your position untenable and effectively forced you to resign, this is known as constructive dismissal and can also entitle you to legal redress under unfair dismissal laws. The types of behaviour that can be considered unfair in this context include:

Radically changing job duties without consultation with the employee.
Significantly changing an employee’s job location at short notice.
Excessive demotion or continued harsh disciplining of an employee.
Victimisation, bullying or harassment by work colleagues.

As with all cases dealing with unfair dismissal law, each case must be considered according to its individual circumstances. If you believe you may have a valid case under unfair dismissal law and want to know if you should take it further, feel free to call us on 020 7408 1338 for a free initial consultation, or get in touch with us through our contact page. For more information on Ashby Cohen and the services our employment lawyers can provide, take a look at our employee page.