Unfair & Wrongful Dismissal.

Dismissal during sick leave or maternity leave is not automatically unlawful, but it is very high risk for an employer and frequently results in successful tribunal claims. Dismissing someone because of or during maternity leave is automatically unfair and may also constitute pregnancy and maternity discrimination. Dismissal during long-term sick leave requires a careful, fair process — including medical evidence, consideration of reasonable adjustments, and consultation — before any decision is made. The Employment Rights Act 2025 has strengthened protections in some of these areas. Employees dismissed during a protected period should take legal advice immediately — the strength of such claims is typically high and the time limit runs from the dismissal date regardless.

Not for straightforward unfair dismissal — that requires a dismissal by the employer. However, if you resigned in response to a fundamental breach of contract by your employer, you may have a claim for constructive unfair dismissal. This requires showing that the employer's conduct — such as bullying, unilateral changes to your contract, or a sustained failure to address a grievance — was so serious that it amounted to a repudiatory breach, and that you resigned in response to it rather than for other reasons. Constructive dismissal claims are harder to win than standard unfair dismissal claims — resigning is always a risk. Taking legal advice before resigning is strongly recommended.

The qualifying period for unfair dismissal is changing. As the law stands in 2026, you generally need two years' continuous service to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. From 1 January 2027, that qualifying period falls to six months, so many more employees will be able to claim. Separately, some dismissals are "automatically unfair" — for example, dismissal for whistleblowing, for pregnancy or maternity, or for asserting a statutory right — and these carry no qualifying period at all, applying from your first day of employment. Which rules apply to you depends on when your employment started and when you were dismissed, so taking advice on your specific situation is essential rather than assuming.

An unfair dismissal claim begins with notifying ACAS and going through early conciliation — a free process in which ACAS attempts to help the parties reach a settlement. If conciliation fails or either party declines, the claimant submits a claim form (ET1) to the employment tribunal. The respondent employer then submits a response (ET3). The tribunal may hold a preliminary hearing to deal with jurisdictional or case management issues. A final hearing follows — usually one to three days depending on complexity — at which both sides present evidence and the tribunal decides. Most cases settle before the final hearing, often following judicial mediation or further ACAS conciliation. The full process from dismissal to final hearing typically takes twelve to eighteen months or longer.

The time limit for bringing an unfair dismissal claim to the employment tribunal is three months less one day from the effective date of termination — the date your employment actually ended. This is a strict deadline: tribunals have very limited discretion to extend it, and late claims are routinely rejected. Before submitting a claim, you must also notify ACAS and go through early conciliation — which pauses the limitation clock while conciliation is attempted. Given the tight timescale, taking legal advice as soon as possible after dismissal is strongly recommended. Do not wait to see whether an internal appeal resolves the matter before seeking advice — the clock is running regardless.

Unfair dismissal compensation has two elements. The basic award is calculated using a formula based on your age, length of service, and weekly pay — subject to a statutory cap on weekly pay that is updated annually. The compensatory award covers your actual financial loss — lost earnings, benefits, and pension — and is subject to a separate statutory cap, currently the lower of one year's gross pay or the annual limit set by the government. Injury to feelings is not awarded in standard unfair dismissal cases. Where dismissal is automatically unfair — for example, for whistleblowing or asserting a statutory right — uplifts may apply. Because unfair dismissal is SRA-regulated, we publish detailed pricing on our employment pricing page.

Employment tribunal claims are free to submit — there are no court fees for bringing an unfair dismissal claim. The cost of legal representation is separate. Because unfair dismissal is an SRA-regulated service, we publish detailed pricing on our employment pricing page so you can understand the likely legal costs before instructing us. We charge by the hour and provide a written cost estimate at the outset. Costs vary depending on the complexity of the claim, whether it settles early or proceeds to a final hearing, and the amount of documentation involved. In most employment tribunal proceedings, each party bears their own legal costs — adverse costs orders against claimants are rare, though not impossible if a claim is found to have been brought unreasonably.

Whether to accept a settlement offer depends on the strength of your claim, the amount offered, and what you want to achieve. A settlement avoids the uncertainty, cost, and stress of tribunal proceedings but may undervalue your claim if accepted too early or without advice. Settlement agreements in the employment context must comply with specific legal requirements — including the employee receiving independent legal advice — to be binding. You should never sign a settlement agreement without first taking legal advice on whether the terms are fair and what you may be giving up. The value of a claim is not always obvious without understanding the full legal picture, including potential Polkey reductions, contribution findings, and the caps on compensation.

A Polkey reduction is a reduction in unfair dismissal compensation applied where a tribunal finds that, even if the employer had followed a fair procedure, the outcome — dismissal — would have been the same or likely the same. Named after the House of Lords case Polkey v AE Dayton Services Ltd [1987], the principle allows a tribunal to reduce the compensatory award to reflect the chance that the employee would have been dismissed fairly in any event. For example, if a tribunal finds there was a 50% chance a fair process would still have resulted in dismissal, compensation may be reduced by 50%. A Polkey reduction can significantly affect the value of a claim — understanding the risk early helps in assessing whether to litigate or negotiate.

Certain dismissals are automatically unfair regardless of the employer's reason and regardless of length of service — the qualifying period does not apply. These include dismissal for: pregnancy or maternity leave; whistleblowing (making a protected disclosure); asserting a statutory right such as the right to minimum wage or rest breaks; trade union membership or activities; jury service; taking action on health and safety grounds; and requesting flexible working or parental leave in some circumstances. The Employment Rights Act 2025 has extended the categories of automatic unfair dismissal in several respects. If you were dismissed in connection with any of these protected reasons, you may have a strong claim regardless of how long you had worked for the employer.

Unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal are distinct legal claims that can sometimes arise from the same dismissal. Unfair dismissal is a statutory right — it concerns whether the employer had a fair reason to dismiss and followed a fair procedure. Wrongful dismissal is a contractual claim — it arises where the employer breaches the contract of employment, most commonly by dismissing without giving proper notice or pay in lieu of notice. The two claims are not mutually exclusive: a dismissal can be both unfair and wrongful, or one without the other. Unfair dismissal claims are heard by the employment tribunal; wrongful dismissal claims can be brought in the tribunal or the civil courts depending on the amount claimed.

Wrongful dismissal is a breach of contract claim arising where an employer terminates employment without giving the notice required by the contract — or pay in lieu of notice — and without lawful justification for doing so summarily. It is distinct from unfair dismissal, which is a statutory right. Wrongful dismissal applies from day one of employment with no qualifying period. The compensation is the wages and benefits the employee would have received during their notice period — not a broader assessment of loss. Wrongful dismissal is most valuable where the notice period is long — senior employees on three, six, or twelve months' notice stand to recover significantly more than those on shorter contractual notice. It can be brought in the employment tribunal or civil courts.

An employer must follow a fair procedure before dismissing — failure to do so can make an otherwise potentially fair dismissal unfair, or increase compensation. The minimum expected process includes: a proper investigation into the reason for dismissal; a disciplinary hearing at which the employee is given the opportunity to respond; the right to be accompanied at that hearing by a trade union representative or a colleague; and the right of appeal against the dismissal decision. The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures sets out the expected standards — failure to follow it does not automatically make a dismissal unfair, but tribunals take it into account and can uplift compensation by up to 25% where an employer has unreasonably failed to comply.