Dismissal of an employee

Dismissing an employee is rarely a single moment. It is usually the end of a longer story — a performance problem that was never written down, a restructuring that removed a role, a conduct issue that came to a head on a Friday afternoon. The decision itself may be entirely reasonable and still be taken in a way that turns it into a claim: the wrong reason given, a step skipped, a letter sent to someone the law protects.

A dismissal is therefore judged as much on how it was carried out as on why it happened. Before the letter goes out, it is worth knowing what each route requires and what it leaves behind:

• the rules on the reasons an employer may rely on — conduct, capability, economic grounds — and how each must be substantiated;
• the rules on the steps that come before the decision — warnings, a hearing and, where required, the prior approval of an authority or a court;
• the rules on the form of the dismissal, who may sign it, and what the letter must and must not state;
• the rules on notice periods, payment in lieu, and whether the employee works the notice or is released from it;
• the rules on dismissal for serious misconduct, and how quickly an employer must act once the facts are known;
• the rules on people who cannot be dismissed in the ordinary way — pregnant employees, staff representatives and others the law shields;
• the rules on collective redundancies, when several dismissals together bring duties to inform and consult;
• the rules on what is owed at the end — outstanding pay, accrued holiday and the documents the employee must receive on leaving.

Our lawyers can support you with this.