In most cases, an employee must have been employed for one year or more before he or she is eligible to present a claim for unfair dismissal. However, there are exceptions to this rule, for which no requisite length of service is required.  Care must always be taken when dismissing an employee, for any reason. We always recommend that legal advice is sought prior to taking such a step.

Potentially Fair Reasons for Dismissal

There are five potentially fair reasons for a fair dismissal. These are:

1. The employee’s conduct
2. The employee’s capability or qualifications
3. Redundancy
4. Retirement
5. Some other Substantial Reason.

In order to successfully defend a claim for unfair dismissal, you must prove to the Employment Tribunal that you have dismissed the employee for one of these potentially fair reasons and that fair procedures have been followed and that you have acted reasonably in the circumstances.

Remedies for Unfair Dismissal

If an employee is unfairly dismissed, the Employment Tribunal can order that the employee is re-instated (which means that the employee is treated as though he or she was never dismissed), re-engaged (which means that the employee is re-employed in a suitable role), or that the employee should be awarded compensation. The current limit on an award for compensation is £65,300.

Responding to the employees claim

If a former employee presents a claim at the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal, you should enter your response using form “ET3”.  The ET3 needs to set out the grounds on which you are resisting the claim, i.e. that the dismissal is for one of the five potentially fair reasons, that a fair procedure was followed, and that you acted reasonably.

The Technicalities of form ET3:

1. It is imperative that your response is filed within 28 days of the date on which the Employment Tribunal sent a copy of the claim form to you.
   


2. If you cannot send your response form to the Employment Tribunal in time, you can ask the Tribunal to extend the time limit. Any request has to be made within the 28 day limit, and you should give full reasons for your request. The Tribunal will consider your request and decide whether to allow an extension. Bear in mind that the Tribunal may not grant your request – if they do not, you need to be prepared to file a response in any event.
   
   
3. You must ensure that the response is completed correctly on the correct form. If the form is not completed correctly, it will be rejected by the Employment Tribunal.

If you fail to respond to the claim within the 28 day time limit (or other time period granted by the Employment Tribunal on request) using the correct form, giving the correct information, the Employment Tribunal can consider making a “default judgement”. This means that a decision would be made without taking into consideration any of your evidence.

Gathering the Evidence

When your response has been received by the Employment Tribunal, it is likely that the Employment Tribunal will give the parties “directions” on how to proceed. These are likely to set out the duty to disclose documents, prepare witness statements, and prepare a bundle for trial. The key to successfully defending a claim for unfair dismissal is in the preparation, and it is imperative that evidence is carefully gathered and presented to the Employment Tribunal.

Settling the employee’s claims

Regardless of whether the employee’s claims are with merit, the costs of defending proceedings are significant. For this reason, we recommend that an offer to settle the employee’s claims should always be considered. Settlement terms can not only include a sum of compensation, but can also, for example, impose confidentiality terms on the employee. We can negotiate settlement terms for you.

Contact Us

Should you wish to discuss any unfair dismissal claim further, we offer a FREE No Obligation initial telephone consultation. Please contact Laura Poole in the first instance on 01494 670440 or at lcp@chebsey.com.