The Basics – Some Other Substantial Reason Dismissals

Before dismissing someone on the grounds of ‘some other substantial reason’, it is important to realise the legal ramifications of doing so. Below is an overview of some of the most important points. Once you have read this page, please also refer to our guide – Your Responsibilities.

The list of valid legal reasons for dismissal form part of The Employment Rights Act. It is important to realise that these reasons for dismissal are only valid if the employer follows a fair procedure and acts reasonably throughout the dismissal process. Here are the main reasons you can potentially use to legally dismiss an employee:

• The employee fails to conduct him or herself properly
• The employee turns out not to be capable of the job or is not properly qualified
• The employee cannot carry on working in their current position without a law or statutory regulation being broken
• The service the employee provides is no longer needed by the employer

In the past, employment tribunals have ruled that dismissals that meet the ‘some other substantial reason’ criteria are fair and legal. However, they have only ruled this way when there were strong grounds for termination of employment that did not fit neatly into the normal categories for dismissal. It is important to note that even if the grounds for dismissal are valid, if the employer has not acted in a reasonable manner and followed a fair procedure when dismissing someone, the tribunal is not likely to rule in their favour.

It is important not to try to use the ‘some other substantial reason’ dismissal route as a shortcut to firing someone. If a dismissal falls into one of the other legal categories, the appropriate dismissal process for that category must be adhered to. As an example, poor performance – the inability of an employee to deliver to the required standard falls under the category of capability. Therefore, in this case, the process for dismissing someone on the grounds of capability is the one that needs to be followed. Failure to identify and follow the right process could result in an unfair dismissal ruling from an employment tribunal.

When an employee has been employed for the appropriate qualification period and believes that they have been unfairly dismissed, they can file an unfair dismissal complaint. The qualifying period for those whose employment began before 6th April 2012 is one year. There is a qualifying period of two years for those whose employment started after 6th April 2012. If the reason for dismissal falls into the category of ‘automatically unfair’, there is no employment qualifying period. This means even someone who has only been employed for a few weeks or months could potentially bring a claim before a tribunal. For more information, see our Automatic Unfair Dismissal checklist.

Those who are employee shareholders have no right to make a standard unfair dismissal complaint. However, in the situation where their reason for dismissal falls into the Automatic Unfair Dismissal category they can in fact make a claim.

See our Rules and Regulations section for more information about the legal requirement relating to ‘some other substantial reason’ dismissals.

For more detailed advice call 0207 381 8111 or email us at Hylton Potts.