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Hi
Where an employee is dismissed on grounds which are Unfair (automatically unfair) such as trade union activities, does this protection apply even while the employee has only been employed a short time? I seem to have gotten slightly confused as at one point I was under the impression if the employee had less than two years experience they had no protection against any form of dismissal but now I think they do from unfair dismissal.
If the employer dismisses the employee within this period does any reason need to be given? Can’t they just say it’s redundancy (no longer required) to cover up the true reason?
If the dismissal is automatically unfair, the length of time of employment is irrelevant
Here’s a link to the website of citizens’ advice – about half way down the page there is specific mention of trade union membership (to address directly your example)
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/leaving-a-job/dismissal/check-if-your-dismissal-is-fair/
Specifically, here’s an extract from that webpage:
“If you think you were sacked because of an automatically unfair reason or discrimination, you can challenge your dismissal – it doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked there for.”
OK?
Hi Mike
Sorry to resurrect this issue but I’m determined to understand as much as I can while I have the fortune of your wise tutorage.
I am still confused on this point, I have just seen on another source “Unfair dismissal is a statutory claim made only by ‘qualified’ employees” and one of the defining points is the two years service point. This is also available here.
https://www.gov.uk/dismissal/what-to-do-if-youre-dismissed
You previously mentioned if the reason is automatically unfair, the length of employment is irrelevant but it seem to contract the above point of “You must have worked for your employer for a minimum period before you qualify for the right to claim unfair dismissal at a tribunal.”
As such, how does this make sense? Is there any way for me to understand which offences are unfair at under two years and which would be the case over only. Do I just need to go back over the lectures?
Thank you
I believe the subtle difference is that between the expressions “automatically unfair” and, simply, “unfair”
My understanding is that, if it’s automatically unfair, the two year rule doesn’t apply
But if the unfair dismissal is not automatically unfair, but is nevertheless unfair, then the two year rule is applicable
OK?
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