A hot topic of conversation following the labour manifesto (Labour’s plan to make work pay – Delivering a new deal for working people) (New Deal), is that workers will not be “…waiting up to two years to access basic rights of protection against unfair dismissal…”. On the face of it that could mean that unfair dismissal would be a day one right.
The New Deal specifically states:
“This will not prevent fair dismissal, which includes dismissal for reasons of capability, conduct or redundancy, or probationary periods with fair and transparent rules and processes. We will ensure employers can operate probationary periods to assess new hires. However, the changes will help to ensure that newly hired workers are not fired without reason or cause and will help drive up standards in workplaces.”
We will wait to see how this manifesto promise manifests itself under the new Labour government however the current position under s.94 Employment Rights Act 1996 is that an employee with 103 weeks’ continuous service is protected from being unfairly dismissed.
Automatically unfair dismissals
There are a number of exceptions whereby you have a day one right to be protected from being unfairly dismissed, some common examples of automatically unfair dismissals include:
- raising health and safety concerns;
- being a whistle-blower (i.e. making a protected disclosure);
- for asserting certain statutory rights (e.g. annual leave or national minimum wage)
- a reason connected to your part-time or fixed-term status; or
- a reason connected to pregnancy or a type of family leave e.g. maternity, parental, paternity, adoption leave etc.
Discrimination
You also are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (Equality Act) as a day one right. There are currently nine characteristics that are afforded protection under the Equality Act age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
It is worth noting that there can be a blurring between an automatic unfair dismissal and discrimination as they are both day one rights. By way of example, a dismissal for a reason connected to maternity or pregnancy could be both discriminatory and automatically unfair.
Breach of contract, wrongful dismissal and unlawful deductions from wages
You can bring a breach of contract claim, wrongful dismissal or unlawful deduction from wages claim without having 103 weeks’ continuous service. In the case of wrongful dismissal, if you were summarily dismissed but your conduct did not warrant gross misconduct, you could bring a claim at the Employment Tribunal for your notice pay entitlement. You could bring a breach of contract claim for an unpaid bonus at the Employment Tribunal, if the claim did not exceed £25,000 in value and you could bring a claim for unlawful deductions from wages, for example, if your employer didn’t pay you your accrued but untaken holiday pay if you were dismissed.
You should always ensure that you seek specialist employment advice in respect of the information set out above. Our expert team of employment law solicitors can speak to you about your specific circumstances and help you decide the best course of action. Contact us at Consilia Legal for a free, no obligation chat to find out how we could help you.