The Basics of Dismissal without Notice

If you dismiss an employee without notice, this is often referred to as a ‘summary dismissal’. This kind of dismissal is only possible when an employee commits an act of gross misconduct.

It is very important to follow a proper disciplinary procedure before dismissing someone without giving them notice. Any employer that does not do so runs the risk of the employee filing an unfair dismissal complaint with an employment tribunal.

Before taking the step of carrying out a dismissal without notice, you need to be sure that you understand the legal requirements. We have outlined the essentials below. Reading our Your Responsibilities section will also provide you with a guide of how to proceed with this kind of dismissal.

An employee who has committed an act of gross misconduct can be dismissed without payment in lieu of notice (PILON) or any notice period. Employers need to consider their approach carefully and determine that there is indeed a fair and legal reason for this type of dismissal. A fair dismissal procedure must be followed, because failure to do so will usually result in the dismissal being ruled as unfair.

The Acas Code of Practice sets out the principles of fairness for grievances and disciplinary matters, and your dismissal procedure needs to follow these principles. This is because when reviewing and ruling on cases Employment Tribunals they take into consideration the Acas Code. If an employer has not complied with the code in its entirety, an Employment Tribunal can increase the award amount by up to 25%.

Any employee that has been continuously employed for the legally defined qualifying period cannot be dismissed without a fair and lawful reason. For those whose employment started prior to 6th April 2012 that is one year, and after that date the qualifying period rises to two years. Any employee who meets the qualifying period criteria can file a claim for unfair dismissal with an Employment Tribunal. This applies to anyone regardless of how old they are, and there is no upper age limit for doing so.

In some cases, the length of service criteria does not have to be met. If the reason they were dismissed is one of those defined as ‘automatically unfair’, the employee can file a claim regardless of the length of their employment. An example of an ‘automatically unfair’ dismissal is a woman who was dismissed because of a pregnancy. Our Automatic Dismissal Checklist explains more about this subject.

Normally, employee shareholders cannot claim for unfair dismissal, but they are able to make a dismissal complaint if their dismissal falls into the category of ‘automatically unfair’.

Our Rules and Regulations section has more details about the legal requirements that relate to Summary Dismissal.

You can also contact us on 0207 381 8111 or via email. At Hylton Potts, we provide tailored legal advice about all employment matters including dismissal.