Unfair Dismissal Solicitors in Essex – Romford, Brentwood, Upminster

The first step should be to appeal against your dismissal. If your appeal is not successful then you should seek advice from a specialist solicitor.

If an unfair dismissal claim is successful, the employer will be ordered to pay compensation. In some cases the employer may be ordered to give the employee their job back, however this is uncommon.

The best way to prevent unfair dismissal claims is to have up-to-date capability and disciplinary policies, and make sure that they are followed . It is also wise to seek legal advice before dismissing an employee to ensure that the proper procedure is followed.

If an employer receives notice of an unfair dismissal claim, they should seek specialist legal advice as a matter of urgency. The Tribunal allows 28 days for the employer to respond to the claim and so the sooner a solicitor is instructed, the better.

It is vital to keep records of all dismissals, including evidence of why the employee was dismissed, and the procedure that was followed.

If an employer loses an unfair dismissal claim, they will be ordered to pay compensation to the employee.

There are different time limits depending on the type of claim that is being pursued, but as a very general rule, the majority of claims need to be brought within three months of the date of the act complained of.  For example, if you believe you have been unfairly dismissed, the time limit would normally be three calendar months from the date of dismissal.  If in doubt, always start from the earliest incident or trigger for a claim.

You should also be aware that an Employment Tribunal claim cannot be brought until you have attempted early conciliation through ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).  ACAS act as an impartial intermediary to help resolve a dispute.   If conciliation is not successful and you still need to bring an Employment Tribunal claim, where both parties have actively engaged in the process, you can usually obtain a lawful extension of time for lodging the claim by the same period of

Parties can represent themselves in the Employment Tribunal. However, it can be confusing, stressful and time consuming – instructing a solicitor to represent you can make things easier.

You will need evidence to show either that your dismissal was not justified, that a fair procedure was not followed, or both. This might include minutes from the meetings you had with your employer, and statements from your colleagues.

We always work with you to calculate a range of awards a Tribunal might make as early as possible in a case as we understand it influences your decision whether to pursue a claim.

Generally speaking, for successful unfair dismissal claims you may be able to recover a basic award equivalent to your statutory redundancy entitlement (which is based on your age, salary and length of service).  The employee may also be entitled to a compensatory award for reimbursement of actual financial losses (e.g. loss of salary and benefits), subject to a cap.

From a statistical point of view, the median unfair dismissal award made by an Employment Tribunal (as published by the Ministry of Justice) for the financial year 2017/18, was £8,015, with the average award £15,007.  For successful claims of discrimination, the compensation will be determined by a Tribunal based on the severity of the individual case.  The average award made Employment Tribunals for the financial year 2017/18 ranged from £5,074 for religious discrimination, up to £30,698 for disability discrimination.