How Can I Make a Claim For Unfair Dismissal?

You can make a claim against your employer if you believe that you may have been unfairly dismissed. Unfair dismissal claims made through Employment Tribunals rather than the normal court system. They have been specially set up to hear cases relating to breaches of employment rights and other disputes between employers and employees. Instead of a judge, employment tribunal cases are heard by a three-member panel. One of these members will have a background as a trade-unionist, one will have a background as an employer and the third will be a qualified solicitor or barrister, who will act as the chairman.

Unfair dismissal claims should be brought in the employment tribunal which covers the area where you were previously employed. It is important to make an unfair dismissal case quickly, because employment tribunal claims are subject to a strict time limit. A claim will need to be brought up within 3 months of your dismissal and unless you can demonstrate exceptional reasons, the tribunal is very unlikely to grant an extension on this.

In order to win your case you will need to show the tribunal either that:

You were dismissed for an automatically unfair reason (such as being pregnant or being a member of a trade union) or that you were dismissed for some other reason, but your employer did not follow a fair process or dismissal was not reasonable. This could be the case where you were not performing your duties adequately, but your employer did not give you a fair opportunity to explain your actions or where your failings were minor and some other form of discipline would have been more appropriate.

You will need to produce evidence to support your case, and this may be in the form of copies of emails or witness statements provided by your colleagues. If your employer produces evidence to try and show that the dismissal was fair, you will have the opportunity to challenge this evidence and question them and their witnesses.

Although employment tribunals were intended to be less formal than courts so that cases could be dealt with quickly and easily, the rules which govern the way in which the hearing is held and what evidence can and cannot be considered have become very complicated. Although the chairman will try to help you understand these rules and procedures, in many cases it may be worth paying a specialist lawyer to represent you.

Compensation
If your claim for unfair dismissal is successful, then the employment tribunal will award you compensation. There are two types of compensation - the basic award and the compensatory award.

The basic award is given to reflect the fact that the employees rights have been breached and the employee is entitled to this compensation even if they have suffered no financial loss and has walked straight into another job. The basic award is calculated from a formula which takes into account the number of years that the employee has worked for the employer and his average weekly pay (capped at £380). The basic award is limited to a maximum of around £11,000.

The compensatory award is given to reflect any financial or other type of loss which the employee has suffered as a result of being unfairly dismissed. It will take into consideration the loss of wages, the difficulty which the employee may have finding a new job, the loss of any other benefits such as a company car or health-plan, and the fact that when they do find a new job, the employee will have to work for a year before they are protected from unfair dismissal. The total amount of the compensatory award is limited to a maximum of approximately £65,000.

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