Unfair dismissal for asserting a statutory right 

Introduction

There appears to be a growing tide of employees making these type of claims, it is therefore suggested that Employers are aware of the statutory provisions in this respect.  

An employee does not need to have been continuously employed for 12-months to bring this type of 'unfair dismissal' claim before an Employment Tribunal. The normal rules of ‘unfair dismissal’ do not apply with these type of claims.  

The dismissal of an employee is automatically unfair if the reason for the dismissal was that the employee brought proceedings against the employer to enforce a relevant statutory right or alleged that the employer infringed a relevant statutory right. Therefore 'protection' is afforded to the employee from day one.

The complaint must be presented within three months of the date on which that treatment took place, or (unusually) within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable in the circumstances.   Should such a complaint be upheld, the tribunal will make a declaration to that effect and will order the employer to pay the complainant such amount of compensation as the tribunal considers to be just and equitable in the circumstances.

Employees do not have to have specified the right they sought to assert, so long as they made it reasonably clear to the employer what that right was.

So if you dismiss an employee for asserting one of the following rights, it is unfair dismissal.

The right to receive

A written statement of employment particulars;

An itemised pay statement;

Guaranteed pay;

Remuneration during suspension on medical grounds;

Time off for public duties;

Time off to look for work or make arrangements for training prior to redundancy;

Time off for antenatal care;

Protection against unlawful deductions from pay;

Protection against unlawful receipt of payments by employer;

Protection against detriment in health and safety cases;

Minimum period of notice;

Deduction of unauthorised or excessive union subscriptions;

Protection against detriment in cases relating to Sunday shop or betting work;

Time off for employee pension scheme trustee duties or training;

Time off for employee representative duties or candidacy;

Working time, rest periods, breaks and annual leave;

Time off for study or training;

Parental leave;

Time off for dependants;

Time off for trade union duties and activities or training.

Requiring the employer to stop payment of a contribution to a union's political fund;

Receiving detrimental treatment by any act, or any failure to act, on trade union grounds;

Making a public interest disclosure.

Employers need to be alive to these issues and of the provisions governing automatic unfair dismissal. 

F or more information, regarding either this topic or our retained services, which includes an unlimited use advice line, letter drafting, very successful tribunal defence scheme and visits to your site, contact EBS on 01625 874400.