Dismissal Procedures

The Employment Act 2002 (referred to as ‘the Act’) was brought into effect on October 1, 2004. The Act introduced many things into employment law. One thing introduced by the Act is new dismissal procedures. These new dismissal procedures have an important bearing on some areas of employment law, including the fairness of a dismissal.

If an employee is dismissed without being subjected to proper dismissal procedures, it is likely that their dismissal will be automatically unfair. As a result of this, the employee will have a claim for unfair dismissal against their employer. This highlights the importance for employers and human resources departments to rigorously implement and follow dismissal procedures. Failure to do so could result in them paying out large sums of compensation to settle unfair-dismissal claims.

The Act introduced these new dismissal procedures to promote alternative dispute resolution (referred to as ‘ADR’). ADR aims to resolve disputes through meetings held between the two parties out of court. ADR has been pushed in recent years due to the increased number of cases going to court.

In employment matters, the aim of dismissal procedures is to promote communication between the employer and his employee. It is hoped that use of these procedures will mean disputes being resolved without going to court and employees only being dismissed as a last resort. Some question the fairness and impartiality of dismissal procedures as appeals are heard by employers. This is why dismissed employees still use employment tribunals.

If you would like to obtain legal advice and information on dismissal procedures, Contact Law can put you in touch with a local specialist Employment Solicitor free of charge. So, if you have any questions or would like our help in finding local Employment Solicitors please call us on 0800 1777 162 or complete the web-form above.