Unfair dismissal
Contents
Overview
The law gives most employees the right not to be unfairly dismissed.
To qualify for this right, they must have 2 years' continuous service (or 1 year for employees in Northern Ireland). However, there are several exceptions where a qualifying period is not required.
Note: In England, Wales and Scotland, the requirement of 2 years' service is expected to be reduced from January 2027. Instead, employees will be able to start an unfair dismissal claim after working for their employer for at least 6 months. See our section on the Employment Rights Act 2025 for more information.
An employee who feels they were dismissed unfairly can start a claim for unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal.
If that happens, you must be able to show you dismissed the employee fairly. This requires you to have a good reason to dismiss your employee, and that you acted fairly in the way in which you handled the dismissal.
Usually, the employer must prove to the tribunal that the dismissal was fair. If it's unfair, the tribunal can make an order for reinstatement, re-engagement or award the employee monetary compensation.
Fair reasons for dismissal
For a dismissal to be fair, an employer must show that the reason for dismissal was due to one or more of the following:
- Capability, i.e. inability to perform duties due to a lack of competence or long-term sickness
- Misconduct
- Redundancy
- Illegality, i.e. where the employment could not continue without a breach of a statutory duty or restriction
- Some other substantial reason that doesn't fall within the above list but is still regarded as being fair.
See the section on Reasons for dismissal for more detailed information.