losing or leaving your job

• dismissal
• redundancy
• constructive dismissal
• leaving your job

Either party to a contract of employment – you or your employer (although your employer will need a lawful reason and to follow a fair procedure) – can terminate the contract by giving notice. Most contracts will contain an express term detailing the notice which must be given on either side, and you also have statutory rights to minimum notice and protection against unfair dismissal.

From a legal point of view, a dismissal takes place when:

• the employer terminates the employment, with or without notice (a dismissal without notice is a ‘summary dismissal’ due to, for example, gross misconduct);
• a fixed-term contract expires and is not renewed; or
• the employer’s behaviour amounts to such a fundamental breach of the contract of employment that the employee is entitled to resign and consider him or herself has having been dismissed.

Unfair dismissal

All employees have legal protection against unfair dismissal after a year’s continuous service with their employer, regardless of the number of hours per week they work.

There are some statutory fair reasons for dismissal. If your dismissal is not for one of these, or some other substantial reason, then it could be unfair, and you could take your case to an Employment Tribunal, seeking reinstatement in your job or compensation. In addition, if the dismissal is for one of the statutory reasons, tribunals judge the fairness of the dismissal against factors such as whether the employer acted reasonably, and the size and administrative resources of the employer.

Automatically unfair dismissal

Even if you have less than a year's continuous service with your employer, dismissals on grounds of a characteristic protected by equality legislation (ie sex, race, disability, being transgendered, sexual orientation, religion or belief) or for any of the reasons below, are automatically unfair:

• membership of, or activities connected to, an independent trade union
• taking legitimate steps to ensure the observance of health and safety work place requirements
• carrying out the functions of an elected employee representative or candidate for election or taking part in an election for reps
• carrying out the functions of an occupational pension scheme trustee
• disclosures of wrong doing under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (whistleblowing)
• pregnancy or childbirth
• asserting a statutory right
• refusing to work on a Sunday if working in retail or betting (unless part of your existing contract),
• seeking entitlements under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998

There is no longer an upper age limit on bringing a claim of unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal, and retirement will no longer even be a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

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