Depending on the circumstances, any of the following claims - alone or in combination - might be brought against you:
- Wrongful dismissal. This is most likely where:
a) you have dismissed an employee without proper notice (either the statutory minimum, or the minimum stipulated in their contract of employment, if longer); or
b) being contractually entitled to do so (employers can dispense with contractual notice periods, and make a payment in lieu of notice on termination of employment, only if it is expressly provided for in the contract), you dismiss them without pay in lieu of notice.
Either may be a breach of contract, so your employee may be able to claim damages, calculated so as to put them in the position they would have been if the breach had not occurred (ie salary payable during the notice period, plus an amount equivalent to any benefits due during the same period). If they believe they are entitled to more than an Employment Tribunal can award in such cases (currently £25,000), they can take the claim to a civil court.
a) In most cases employees cannot sue for unfair dismissal unless they have at least one year's continuous service with you.
b) But in some cases (see question 14) employees can sue regardless of length of service - for example, where the reason for dismissal is (or appears to be) an 'inadmissible' reason (such as pregnancy, or taking advantage of statutory maternity rights), or where it relates to assertion of a statutory employment right (such as the minimum wage).
If an Employment Tribunal finds against you in an unfair dismissal claim, you might have to pay compensation, which includes both a basic award (currently £9,900 maximum), and a compensatory award (currently £63,000 maximum). In reaching its decision, the Tribunal will look at both the reason for the dismissal, and the manner of it.
Alternatively, an employee might ask for either reinstatement (to the old job, as though they had not been dismissed), or re-engagement (to a different job with the same employer, or a successor or associated employer). In either case, their employment must be treated as continuous - ie as though they had not been dismissed at all.
- Discrimination. This could happen if the employee claims that the dismissal was discriminatory, because it was related to their
a) sex or marital status;
b) colour, race, nationality or ethnic origin;
c) disability;
d) sexual orientation;
e) religion, religious beliefs or philosophical beliefs; or
f) age (since 1 October 2006).
There is no minimum service requirement, and there are no upper limits on the amount of the award in these cases. An employee who wins on a discrimination claim might also be entitled to compensation for injury to feelings (currently capped at £25,000).
Employees can also bring claims against individuals, which could include you and/or your directors and managers.
