Dismissal
Resource summary
This factsheet was last updated in June 2011
What is dismissal?
Dismissal of an employee occurs when:
- the employer terminates the contract, either with or without giving notice
- a fixed term contract ends and is not renewed
- the employee leaves, with or without giving notice, in circumstances in which they are entitled to do so because of the employer’s conduct.
According to Acas1, the independent conciliation service, among the commonest reasons for dismissal are misconduct, inability to do the job and redundancy.
A dismissal will normally be ‘fair’ provided the employer has one of the five specific reasons for the dismissal (see below) and has acted ‘reasonably’ in carrying it out. When somebody is dismissed, they often say they will claim 'unfair' or 'wrongful' dismissal. The terms are often used interchangeably, particularly in media reports, but in fact they arise from very different concepts.
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- What is dismissal?
- Wrongful dismissal
- Unfair dismissal
- Constructive dismissal
- Compensation for dismissal
- CIPD viewpoint
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