Wrongful Dismissal Solicitors
If your employer has acted in breach of your contract, you may be able to claim for wrongful dismissal. If you believe your employer has failed to adhere to their contractual obligations, our employment law solicitors may be able to help you claim compensation.
Our employment lawyers advise employees across the UK from our offices in Bristol and the surrounding areas, including Bedminster, Bishopston, Bristol city centre, Kingswood, and Thornbury. For advice on making a wrongful dismissal claim, call us on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our enquiry form.
What is wrongful dismissal?
Wrongful dismissal is when an employer acts in breach of an employee’s contract, for example, failing to give the correct notice period as set out in the employment contract, or not paying accrued but untaken holiday.
An employee does not need two years’ service to claim wrongful dismissal.
Can I claim compensation for wrongful dismissal?
If your employer has not followed their contractual obligations, you could have a claim for wrongful dismissal whereby you can claim losses you have sustained as a result of your employer’s breach.
Losses could include financial losses due to being out of work.
Wrongful dismissal claims can be based on a breach of an implied or express term. An implied term is one that has not been expressly agreed between an employer and an employee, but is implied, either by common law or statute. In other words, it is so obvious that it may not have been included in writing. An example of an implied term is for employees to be friendly and polite to customers or clients.
An express term can be agreed verbally or in writing, e.g. in an employment contract. Verbal express terms are as legally binding as written ones. An example of a breach of an express term is where the employer has failed to give the employee their minimum notice period as set out in their employment contract.
Examples of wrongful dismissal
Common examples of wrongful dismissal include:
- Dismissing or firing an employee on the spot.
- Dismissing an employee without paying them in lieu of notice.
- Terminating a fixed-term contract before the term ends or without following the dismissal procedure.
- Reducing an employee’s wages without consultation.
- Treating a performance issue as gross misconduct (and therefore dismissing the employee without notice) when the performance issue did not actually amount to gross misconduct.
Why choose Barcan and Kirby for your wrongful dismissal claim
Barcan and Kirby’s employment law solicitors pride themselves on offering practical, common-sense advice tailored to your situation. We take the time to listen to you and work to achieve the best possible outcome for you.
Our expert employment solicitors support employees across the UK in making wrongful dismissal claims, as well as a wide range of other employment-related issues, including:
- Age discrimination
- Constructive dismissal
- Disability discrimination
- Sex discrimination
- Religious discrimination
- Pregnancy or maternity discrimination
- Gender discrimination
- Racial discrimination
- Disciplinary procedure
- Employment contracts
- Grievance procedure
- Post-termination restrictions
- Redundancy
- Restrictive covenants
- Stress at work claims
- Settlement agreements
- Unfair dismissal
- The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE)
- Whistleblowing
Our colleagues in our Personal Injury team can also advise on accident at work claims and employer’s liability claims.
If your wrongful dismissal claim cannot be dealt with via mediation, our employment lawyers will support you at an employment tribunal.
To book an appointment, call us on 0117 325 2929 or fill out this form, and we will be in touch.
Wrongful dismissal FAQs
Each wrongful dismissal case is different, and our solicitors always aim to resolve claims early on, without going to an employment tribunal. Generally, the key stages of a wrongful dismissal claim are:
- Initial meeting with one of our employment lawyers to discuss your requirements and how we might be able to help.
- If appropriate, we can draft a Pre-Action letter to your former employer setting out the issues and requesting compensation to avoid an employment tribunal claim being issued.
- Our solicitors can notify Acas or assist you with this behind the scenes. By contacting Acas, this initiates the Acas Early Conciliation process. This aims to resolve the dispute without going to a tribunal.
- If Acas Early Conciliation is unsuccessful, our solicitors can help you submit a claim to the employment tribunal.
- Once a tribunal claim has been issued, your employer has 28 days to respond to your wrongful dismissal claim.
- If your claim goes to an employment tribunal, it may be necessary for you to attend a preliminary hearing to clarify the claim and set the timetable for the rest of the case. Your solicitor will support you through this, and for more complex cases, we may ask for the support of a Barrister.
- The employment tribunal may require the disclosure of documents, a Schedule of Loss to be drafted and witness statements drafted and filed ahead of your hearing. We will help you with this.
- The employment tribunal hearing takes place, with both parties presenting their case. The judge shares their decision after considering all the evidence.
In the unlikely event that we cannot resolve your dispute early on and your wrongful dismissal claim goes all the way to a final tribunal hearing, this can take between one to two years. Our employment solicitors will support you the whole way, ensuring you understand the process and your best interests are protected.
Wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal and unfair dismissal are often confused with each other, particularly unfair and wrongful dismissal, but there are some key differences:
- Constructive dismissal is where an employee is forced to terminate their employment because of their employer’s conduct or misconduct. For example, being demoted without good reason.
- Unfair dismissal is where an employee is dismissed without good reason or without following the correct dismissal process.
- Wrongful dismissal is where an employer breaches the employee’s contract.
Legal expenses insurance, either as a standalone policy or included as part of a home insurance policy, can be useful when funding a wrongful dismissal claim. If you have legal expenses insurance and it covers employment claims, it is worth checking with the provider whether they will fund your wrongful dismissal claim.
A common example of a wrongful dismissal claim is being dismissed without the notice expressed or implied within an employee’s contract. However, there are some instances where dismissal without notice is legal and valid.
An employer is entitled to dismiss an employee without notice (on the spot) if it is proven that they have committed an act of gross misconduct.
Some employment contracts contain a Payment In Lieu of Notice clause, which is often referred to as ‘PILON’. This allows the employer to dismiss the employee without notice, but by paying them the money they would have earned had they worked the notice.
Depending on the circumstances, wrongful dismissal claims can be brought in the civil court in accordance with breach of contract laws. Our employment solicitors can advise on which forum is the most appropriate for your case when we meet with you.
If you have been dismissed without notice and are unsure of your rights, it is a good idea to contact our employment solicitors.
Contact our wrongful dismissal solicitors in Bristol
If you have been wrongfully dismissed and want to understand your rights as an employee, our solicitors are here to help. Call our expert team on 0117 325 2929 or make an enquiry.