HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR tips. This week’s tip looks at signing contracts of employment.
Q: What is wrongful dismissal? Is it different from unfair dismissal?
A: Wrongful dismissal is the term used for breach of the employment contract.
A common example is the employer’s failure to give the notice mentioned in the employment contract, or withdrawal of certain contractual provisions such as private use of a company car during the notice period.
A court would award damages to the wrongfully dismissed employee such that he or she would be neither better nor worse off financially as a result of the employer’s action. Wrongful dismissal therefore is about how the employee was dismissed. Unfair dismissal is about why the employee was dismissed. It occurs if the dismissal was for a reason other than the five set out in law, or was not carried out in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice on discipline.
Employees need one year of service in order to claim unfair dismissal, but there is no service requirement for wrongful dismissal.
Previous HR tips
Developing women managers
A promotion that failed
Fixing holidays
Holiday for temporary employees
A redundancy problem
Behaviour outside work
Suspension from work
Informing employees of new legislation
Deductions from wages
Children on site
Workplace affairs
Disabled workers
Attitude problems
Redundancy selection
Custom and practice
Working Bank holidays
Disciplinary and dismissal procedures
Time off work for funerals
References
Translating rules
Banning smoking at work
Burden of proof
Contracts of employment
