Unfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal is an employment tribunal claim brought by an employee who says they were dismissed unfairly. In Great Britain, the right not to be unfairly dismissed comes from the Employment Rights Act 1996 [1]. In simple terms, a dismissal may be unfair if the employer did not have a potentially fair reason for dismissing the employee, or if it had a fair reason but did not act reasonably in the way it handled the dismissal [2][3].
For unfair dismissal purposes, "dismissal" includes more than being told you are sacked. It can include an express dismissal by the employer, the non-renewal of a fixed-term contract, and some resignations that the law treats as dismissals because the employer committed a serious breach of contract. That last type is usually called constructive dismissal [4][5].
Unfair dismissal is different from wrongful dismissal. Wrongful dismissal is usually a contract claim about notice or notice pay. Unfair dismissal is a statutory claim about whether the dismissal itself was fair [3].
Common examples of unfair dismissal
Common examples of ordinary unfair dismissal include dismissal for alleged misconduct without a proper investigation or fair hearing, dismissal for poor performance or capability without warnings or a fair chance to improve, dismissal for ill health without proper consultation or medical evidence, dismissal for redundancy where the process or selection was unfair, and dismissal for a supposedly "other substantial reason" where the employer cannot show a genuine and fair basis for dismissal [6].
The law recognises five potentially fair reasons for dismissal:
- conduct
- capability or qualifications
- redundancy
- statutory restriction
- some other substantial reason
There are also automatically unfair dismissal cases. These are cases where the reason for dismissal is itself prohibited. Common examples include dismissal because of pregnancy or maternity, whistleblowing, raising health and safety concerns, trade union activities, or asserting certain rights relating to pay and working time. In these cases, a fair process will not rescue the dismissal if the real reason was one of those prohibited reasons [7][8].
Constructive dismissal is another common route. This is where the employee resigns because of a serious breach of contract by the employer, for example not paying them, demoting them without good reason, forcing unreasonable changes, or allowing bullying or harassment [5].
Tests the tribunal will make
1. Are you an employee?
Only employees can usually bring an unfair dismissal claim. If employment status is disputed, the tribunal will look at the reality of the working relationship, not just the label used in the contract [9].
2. Have you been dismissed?
The tribunal will ask whether there was a dismissal in law. That can be a dismissal by the employer, the ending of a fixed-term contract without renewal, or a resignation that amounts to constructive dismissal because of a serious breach by the employer [4][5].
3. Do you have enough service?
For ordinary unfair dismissal, the qualifying period is usually:
- 2 years' continuous service if employment started on or after 6 April 2012
- 1 year's service if employment started before 6 April 2012
There are important exceptions. No qualifying period is generally needed for many automatically unfair dismissals, including common examples such as whistleblowing, pregnancy/maternity, and certain health and safety dismissals [7].
4. Is the claim in time?
An unfair dismissal claim must usually be brought within 3 months of the dismissal, subject to the effect of Acas early conciliation. Extensions are possible, but they are not easy to obtain [12][11].
5. What was the real reason for the dismissal?
The employer must show the reason, or principal reason, for the dismissal and show that it was a potentially fair reason. The main potentially fair reasons are:
- conduct
- capability or qualifications
- redundancy
- statutory restriction
- some other substantial reason
6. Did the employer act reasonably?
Even if the employer had a potentially fair reason, the tribunal must still decide whether the employer acted reasonably in all the circumstances in treating that reason as sufficient to dismiss. In practice, that usually means looking at whether the employer investigated properly, followed a fair procedure, gave the employee a chance to respond, and reached a decision that fell within the range of reasonable responses open to a reasonable employer. GOV.UK summarises this more simply: the employer must have a valid reason, act reasonably, be consistent, and investigate the situation fully [2][3].
In a constructive dismissal case, the tribunal will also ask whether the employer committed a serious breach of contract, whether the employee resigned because of it, and whether they resigned without waiting too long [5].
What can the tribunal award?
If the employee succeeds, the tribunal must first consider whether to order reinstatement or re-engagement, although in practice that is often not workable. A reinstatement order means the employee gets their old job back. A re-engagement order means they are employed in a comparable job. If the employer does not comply with such an order, the tribunal can award extra compensation [13].
If the tribunal does not order re-employment, it can award compensation. In an unfair dismissal case that usually means a basic award and a compensatory award [14][15].
Basic award
The basic award is calculated broadly like a statutory redundancy payment. It takes account of the employee's age, length of service and gross weekly pay, subject to a statutory weekly cap [14][7].
Compensatory award
The compensatory award is the amount the tribunal thinks is just and equitable to compensate the employee for financial loss caused by the unfair dismissal. This can include past loss of earnings and future loss of earnings. The tribunal can reduce the award to reflect earnings from another job, failure to mitigate loss, the chance that employment would have ended anyway, and the employee's contributory conduct [15].
As of 6 April 2026, the compensatory award for ordinary unfair dismissal is capped at the lower of 52 weeks' gross pay or GBP123,543. That statutory limit does not apply to some categories, including whistleblowing and certain health and safety dismissals [16][7].
A tribunal cannot normally award compensation in an unfair dismissal claim just for upset or injury to feelings. Those awards are usually associated with separate claims such as discrimination, not unfair dismissal on its own [8].
In summary
An unfair dismissal claim is usually about six core questions:
- were you an employee?
- were you dismissed?
- did you have the right to bring the claim, including enough continuous service if needed?
- was the claim brought in time?
- did the employer have a potentially fair reason?
- did the employer act reasonably in dismissing you?