Wrongful dismissal

Wrongful dismissal

At common law an employee is wrongfully dismissed if their dismissal was in breach of the contract of employment. Normally this will mean dismissal without the notice due under that contract, but it could also cover a purported summary dismissal for cause by the employer (such as where there is an act or a series of breaches which, taken individually, would not amount to gross misconduct) where in fact the employee had not been guilty of gross misconduct.

Employees who do not qualify for unfair dismissal protection under the statutory (unfair dismissal) regime set out in Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) (ERA 1996, s 94) can bring a claim for wrongful dismissal in the civil courts if their dismissal is in breach of contract.

Employees who do qualify for statutory unfair dismissal protection may bring proceedings in both the employment tribunal and civil courts simultaneously, eg where a highly-paid employee brings both unfair dismissal proceedings in the tribunal, and a claim for damages for wrongful dismissal in the High Court.

For further information about unfair dismissal rights generally, see:

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Employment weekly highlights—21 November 2024

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) analysis from Darshan Patel of Old Square Chambers, Nicholas Chronias of DAC Beachcroft LLP, and James Wynne of Littleton Chambers of a Supreme Court decision on ‘check-off arrangements’ and whether a trade union has the right to sue as a third party for breach of an employment contract between the employer and employee, (2) an EAT decision on holiday back pay post-Agnew, (3) the Labour Market Enforcement Strategy for 2024 to 2025, (4) a Bill enacting changes to National Insurance Contributions, (5) an EAT judgment about the test to be applied when deciding whether a claimant with recurring symptoms has a disability, (6) the Bar Council’s response to the Bar Standards Board’s proposed amendments to equality rules, (7) an employment tribunal decision awarding compensation for failure to make reasonable adjustments for endometriosis and anxiety, (8) a call from the Social Mobility Foundation for mandatory class pay gap reporting, (9) results of a survey on discrimination faced by neurodivergent individuals during recruitment, (10) an EAT decision on an employment tribunal’s power to award non-pecuniary losses in whistleblowing detriment claims, (11) analysis by John Binns and Alexander Gorst at BCL Solicitors of the statutory guidance on the failure to prevent fraud offence, (12) an EAT judgment on strike-out, (13) the Senior President of Tribunals’ annual report for 2024, (14) minutes of the most recent meetings of the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales) National User Group and of the Employment Tribunals (Scotland) National User Group, (15) Regulations dealing with the recognition of professional qualifications from Switzerland in Wales, (16) the IRLR Highlights for December 2024, (17) dates for your diary, (18) updates to our case, consultation and legislation trackers and horizon scanner, and (19) a new Q&A.

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Failure to prevent fraud—Statutory guidance

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