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Unfair Dismissal

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Unfair Dismissal Solicitors Lincoln

Being dismissed by your employer can have a devastating effect on you and your family. If you believe your dismissal was unfair, you need specialist advice and assistance. Whether your dismissal followed a protracted disciplinary process or came out of the blue, you need specialist legal advice to make sure you know what your options are.

We always hope the information on our website is helpful, but we are aware that the best assistance is to discuss your problem with a fully qualified unfair dismissal solicitor.  If you would like a free consultation with one of the team at Lincs Law Employment Solicitors, please use the contact form, engage in a web chat, email contactus@lincslaw.com or call us on 01522 440512 and we’ll be happy to help

Termination of Employment

The starting point for any potential claim for Unfair Dismissal is that the contract of employment must have been brought to an end. If you resigned your employment, please see the Resignation and Constructive Dismissal section of our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/resignation-dismissal-and-redundancy/resignation-and-constructive-dismissal/. If your employer has made you Redundant, please see our Redundancy pages to see if that process was fair at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/resignation-dismissal-and-redundancy/redundancy/

If your employer has ended your employment, then you should consider whether your dismissal was fair. If your employer did not have a good reason for dismissing you and/or failed to follow a fair procedure when doing so you may well have a claim for Unfair Dismissal.

Unfair Dismissal

In a claim of Unfair Dismissal, the onus is on the employer to demonstrate to the Employment Tribunal that they had a fair reason for dismissing the employee and, further, followed a fair procedure in doing so.

Employers can only dismiss employees for a reason which falls in to the categories set out by the Employment Rights Act 1996. Those reasons are:-

  • that the employee lacks capability or qualification for their job
  • that the employee committed an act (or acts) of misconduct which justifies their dismissal
  • that there was a genuine redundancy (please see our Redundancy pages)
  • that continuation of employment would convene a statute
  • some other substantial reason – often used for personality clashes.

In considering the procedure followed, the Employment Tribunal will have regard to the ACAS Code of Practice – Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. They will compare the conduct of your employer against the minimum standards in the Code. In the event the Employment Tribunal considers a fair procedure was not followed, then they may consider your dismissal was unfair.

Who Can Claim Unfair Dismissal?

As a general rule you will need to have been employed by your employer for a minimum of two years to be able to claim Unfair Dismissal. However, there are exceptions to this rule, for example if you have been dismissed because you are a whistle-blower or are dismissed due to pregnancy or maternity leave. There are other exceptions to the two year rule which may apply to you.  For more information, please visit our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/blog/unfair-dismissal-the-two-year-rule/

Also, if you are dismissed close to the two year deadline, but your statutory notice period would take you over that deadline, you can be deemed to have two years service.

It is always worth getting specialist legal advice.  If you would like a free consultation with one of the team at Lincs Law Employment Solicitors, please use the contact form, engage in a web chat, email contactus@lincslaw.com or call us on 01522 440512 and we’ll be happy to help

Employment Tribunal Time Limits

As a general rule, you must submit your claim to the Employment Tribunal within three months of your dismissal. You use the last day of your employment as the first day when calculating the time limit. For example, if your last day of employment was 30th June, your claim would need to be submitted to the Employment Tribunal on or before 29th September. However, please note, before submitting your claim you will first have to go through the ACAS Early Conciliation Process. Employment Tribunal time limits can be extended if you are going through the conciliation process when your Employment Tribunal time limit would normally expire. However, if you do not start the ACAS Early Conciliation Process within the normal time limit, you will not receive any extension to submit your claim.

Employment Tribunal time limits are incredibly strict and if you have been dismissed you should seek legal advice immediately. Claims submitted “out of time” will not be accepted by the Employment Tribunal and in those circumstances your ability to pursue your claim will be lost. It is therefore important that if you have a workplace concern or issue, you take legal advice as soon as possible.

Next Steps

If you think you have been dismissed unfairly, call us for a no obligation, free consultation with a fully qualified employment solicitor.  Please use the contact form, engage in a web chat, email contactus@lincslaw.com or call us on 01522 440512 and we’ll be happy to help

We want to help you, just as we helped the clients below who kindly left us the following reviews:

Review from Unfair Dismissal client for Sophie Goodwill, Director, Specialist Employment Solicitor

“Sophie has helped me tirelessly from start to finish with the entirety of my legal proceedings. Sophie made sure that my claim / relevant documents were submitted on time to ensure we could continue and not make any silly mistakes. My instructions were always followed but I would often receive advice on different ways we could approach certain subjects to improve our chances of success. In times where I would be frustrated or angry at the circumstances, Sophie would keep a level head and help me refocus on the task in hand, also making sure I always fully understood the impact any of my decisions may have on my case. Sophie made sure that I had full understanding of any documents or events that we were dealing with, there was never any surprises. Finally, Sophie gave me hope during a time where everyone was trying to take it away from me. It was refreshing for someone to believe me 100%, this support helped me through some very dark times.

I honestly believe there is nothing more Sophie could have done for me”.

Review from Coronavirus Health and Safety and Unfair Dismissal client for Sally Hubbard, Managing Director, Specialist Employment Solicitor

“I contacted Sally after my unlawful dismissal. I had no contract, no holiday entitlement, and my employer had acted in contravention of government advice regarding coronavirus. She helped me reach an agreement and settlement through ACAS. This is the second time that I have needed Sally’s services. Need I say more, I would not use anyone else”.

 

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Compensation Obtained For Our Clients

£33,298,990 and counting

(Plus reinstatements, disciplinary charges dropped, upheld grievances, performance management procedures withdrawn etc.)