Unjustified Dismissal
If a person is dismissed unjustifiably they will have a personal grievance claim against their employer. A dismissal may be unjustified if the employer does not have a good reason for the dismissal and/or if the employer gets the procedure wrong.
An example of a bad reason for a dismissal is because the employer does not like the employee's race or religion. An example of faulty procedure is an employee being caught red handed stealing from the employer, and the employer, in a rage, fails to give the employee a chance to put their side of the story before the dismissal decision is made. There are many other examples that can be given.
A redundancy can also be an unjustified dismissal. An example of faulty procedure causing a redundancy to become an unjustified dismissal is the employer announcing a redundancy to employees without first going through a genuine consultation with them about the proposals. Even if the redundancy itself was genuine the faulty procedure would usually create a personal grievance against the employer.
An example of a redundancy being unjustified on the grounds of substance (i.e. bad reasons for the dismissal) is if the employer wants an employee "out" and they dress up the dismissal as a sham redundancy.
A forced resignation may also be an unjustified dismissal. This situation can arise if the employer follows a course of conduct aimed at coercing the employee to resign (for example if the employer allows a bullying campaign against the employee), or if the employee is told to choose between resigning and being dismissed, or the employer breaches its duty to the employee leaving the employee no choice but to resign.
In order to not lose your legal rights it is usually essential that the personal grievance claim is raised within 90 days (not 3 months).
Please contact us if you are concerned about your own situation or if we can help in any way
An example of a bad reason for a dismissal is because the employer does not like the employee's race or religion. An example of faulty procedure is an employee being caught red handed stealing from the employer, and the employer, in a rage, fails to give the employee a chance to put their side of the story before the dismissal decision is made. There are many other examples that can be given.
A redundancy can also be an unjustified dismissal. An example of faulty procedure causing a redundancy to become an unjustified dismissal is the employer announcing a redundancy to employees without first going through a genuine consultation with them about the proposals. Even if the redundancy itself was genuine the faulty procedure would usually create a personal grievance against the employer.
An example of a redundancy being unjustified on the grounds of substance (i.e. bad reasons for the dismissal) is if the employer wants an employee "out" and they dress up the dismissal as a sham redundancy.
A forced resignation may also be an unjustified dismissal. This situation can arise if the employer follows a course of conduct aimed at coercing the employee to resign (for example if the employer allows a bullying campaign against the employee), or if the employee is told to choose between resigning and being dismissed, or the employer breaches its duty to the employee leaving the employee no choice but to resign.
In order to not lose your legal rights it is usually essential that the personal grievance claim is raised within 90 days (not 3 months).
Please contact us if you are concerned about your own situation or if we can help in any way