Employers must show that a dismissal was for one of five fair reasons: conduct, capability, redundancy, illegality or some other substantial reason. Even then, they must also follow a fair and reasonable procedure.

Constructive dismissal happens when an employee resigns because their employer has breached their contract or created intolerable working conditions. Although it is technically a resignation, the law may treat it as a dismissal caused by the employer.

In most cases, yes — employees must usually have two years’ continuous service to claim unfair dismissal. However, there are exceptions for automatically unfair dismissal reasons, such as whistleblowing or dismissal linked to maternity leave, where no minimum service requirement applies.

Yes. Even if your employer had a potentially fair reason to dismiss you, failure to follow a proper and fair procedure in line with the Acas Code of Practice may make the dismissal unfair. In these cases, compensation awards can be increased by 10%–25%.

Dismissals are automatically unfair if they are linked to protected rights, such as whistleblowing, pregnancy and maternity leave, trade union membership or activities, asserting statutory rights or refusing to work in unsafe conditions. Employees are protected from day one of employment.