Disciplinary or dismissal procedures and statutory rights

In general, employees do not need to have worked for any particular time to assert a statutory right. However, if an employer dismisses an employee without following the required disciplinary or dismissal procedure (DDP), although the dismissal is automatically unfair, the employee needs to have worked for one year to make a claim.

People have asked why, if employers do not follow the DDP, employees cannot argue that they are trying to assert a statutory right and thus do not need to have worked for a year.

Only certain statutory rights are 'protected' in this way. Section 104(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 lists exactly which rights are protected. The duty to use a DDP is not in this list, so employees must have worked for a year to be able to make an unfair dismissal claim for this reason.

Unless employees can argue that the dismissal is automatically unfair for another reason in the s104(4) list, such as pregnancy, they will not be able to make a claim. Employees with less than a year's service who are dismissed by an employer who has not followed the DDP may be able to make a claim for wrongful dismissal; the award can be indviserscreased to reflect the fact that the employer has not followed the DDP.

Disclaimer

All information provided on our news pages were intended to inform the reader of recent events and they should not be treated as legal advice or opinion. In particular the developments detailed in these stories will frequently be overtaken by future events.

If you need any advice from The Village Citizens Advice Bureau please use the advice services.