How would an employee pursue a wrongful dismissal claim?

How to claim wrongful dismissal: County Court or Employment Tribunal?

A claim for wrongful dismissal may be brought in the County or High Court or in the Employment Tribunals. Normally an employee who wants to bring a wrongful dismissal claim in an Employment Tribunal must commence ACAS Early Conciliation within three months less one day of the Effective Date of Termination. Whereas a Claimant who wants to bring a wrongful dismissal claim in a County or High Court has six years from the Effective Date of Termination to bring a claim for the purposes of the Limitation Act 1980.

How much compensation can I get for my wrongful dismissal claim?

Compensation for wrongful dismissal is capped at the notice period and/or the period of time it would have taken to complete a relevant contractual procedure or process. Compensation for wrongful dismissal should include the net value of salary (salary less tax) and any other contractual benefits to which the employee would have been due had they been allowed to work their notice, such as the value of a company car and private health insurance etc.
In an Employment Tribunal, the maximum that a Tribunal can award for wrongful dismissal is capped at £25,000, but there is no such cap in the County or High Courts. If you have a high-value wrongful dismissal claim, then it is of paramount importance that the claim is brought in the most appropriate court or tribunal.
Compensation for breach of a fixed-term contract

When a fixed-term contract, or a contract for a specified task, is terminated before the contract ends, or the task is complete, this will be a wrongful dismissal situation, unless the employer can show that there is a term of the contract which entitles them to dismiss in those particular circumstances. If the employer is in breach of contract by dismissing the employee, it will have to pay for the entirety of the rest of the term of the contract unless there is a provision within the contract for notice, or early termination, to be given.

Expert employment solicitor Robert Rocker explains and answers some questions on how employers can avoid a claim for wrongful dismissal.

Transcript for video

Hello everybody, my name’s Mark Ferron from Castle Associates and I speak to employment law experts across the country and in this short video I speak to employment law solicitor Robert Rocker and he answers questions on wrongful dismissal.

What is the qualifying period for a wrongful dismissal claim?

There is no qualifying period for wrongful dismissal you can claim it even if you've been employed for two years, five years or 18 months, there's no qualifying period.

How would an employee pursue a wrongful dismissal claim?

A claim for wrongful dismissal can be bought either in the employment tribunal or in the civil courts to commence a claim in the employment tribunal you complete an ET1 form and just go on to the government website and do that, or in the civil courts you go under the government website and you complete a claim form there.

How is compensation calculated for wrongful dismissal?

Compensation for wrongful dismissal would generally take the form of the court putting you in the position that you would have been had the contract not been breached so therefore if the employer should dismiss you with two months’ pay or six months’ pay then the court will award you compensation of two months’ or six months’ pay if you're successful.

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