Constructive dismissal meaning

In this issue: Pay Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Equality, diversity and inclusion Whistleblowing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Issues arising on termination Employment tribunals Corporate governance Immigration Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content IRLR Highlights—September 2024 Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Pay Think tank High Pay Centre released analysis of FTSE 100 executive pay for 2023. While CEO pay growth has eased after the post-pandemic surge, the median package hit a new record, up from £4.1m in 2022 to £4.19m in 2023. See: LNB News 12/08/2024 34. Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) ET permitted to reject dismissal complaints despite the employer’s previous omission to make reasonable adjustments. In Parnell v Royal Mail Group [2024] EAT 130, the claimant brought about 31 employment tribunal claims, divided into two periods, each decided by a different tribunal...

In this issue: Horizon scanning Recruitment Public sector Pay Tax Protected characteristics Equality of terms (equal pay) Whistleblowing Employee duties and restrictions on competition Unfair dismissal Employment Tribunals Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Employment resources on Lexis+® LexTalk®Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning Government U-turns on day-one unfair dismissal rights and announces compensation cap ‘will be lifted’ On 27 November 2025, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) confirmed that, following a round of ‘constructive conversations’ with trade unions and business representatives, the discussions settled on a ‘workable package’: shortening the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months, while preserving existing day-one protection against discrimination and for automatically unfair reasons for dismissal. To reinforce these safeguards, the government further pledged that any alteration to the unfair dismissal qualifying period will only be possible through primary legislation,...

In this issue: Pay Tax Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Equality of terms (equal pay) Data protection and employee information Individual rights arising from union membership Banking and financial services: employment issues Issues arising on termination Unfair dismissal Employment Tribunals Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Pay DBT names and shames 524 employers failing to pay minimum wage The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has publicly identified more than 500 firms for failing to pay the national minimum wage to upwards of 172,000 workers. Employers in breach must return nearly £16m to make good these underpayments. This is the twentieth roster released by the government since the 2013 launch of the scheme that publicly ‘names and shames’ employers who do not meet minimum wage requirements. The ‘naming and shaming’ initiative was halted from July 2018 and resumed, in revised form, in February 2020....

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246, confers extra protection on employees when a dismissal arises in the context of a transfer. EU‑sourced legislation, including much of TUPE 2006, enacted to give effect to the UK’s obligations under EU law (for example, Directive 2001/23/EC, the Acquired Rights Directive (ARD)), and still applicable in the UK at the end of the Brexit transition period/IP completion day, continues in force as assimilated law. For further information, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. Enhanced protection against dismissal An individual benefits from this enhanced protection only if they can pursue an unfair dismissal claim—meaning they must be an employee (see Practice Note: Employee status) with the required two years’ continuous employment. For further information, see Practice Note: Entitlement to claim unfair dismissal...

Under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), an employee has a statutory entitlement to ask their employer to make defined changes to their contract terms (ie to submit a flexible working request). The core elements of this entitlement are outlined below. The statutory framework for flexible working is contained in sections 80F to 80I of the ERA 1996 and the Flexible Working Regulations 2014, SI 2014/1398. On 6 April 2024, a series of reforms took effect to broaden opportunities for flexible working. These are summarised in Changes to the statutory scheme in force from 6 April 2024, below. The statutory scheme is supported by the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working (Acas flexible working Code), which took effect on 6 April 2024, together with Acas non-statutory advice. For further information, see Acas Code of Practice and guidance, below. This Practice Note covers: the statutory framework for making, and responding to, a request for flexible working the legal and...

Dismissal of an employee by their employer Generally, an employer takes the initiative to end an employee’s employment. In essence, the employer brings the contract of employment to an end through what they say or do. Such action is usually known as an express dismissal. However, there are situations where the employer does not end the contract but acts in a way that allows the employee to resign and argue that, because of the employer’s misconduct, they have effectively been dismissed. A resignation in those circumstances may amount to a constructive dismissal. Here, the resignation is treated as dismissal arising from the employer’s conduct...

[ Insert in para 8.2 of claim form ET1: ] The Respondent engaged the Claimant as a [ job title ]. She was based at the Respondent’s premises at [ insert address ], where she was one of only three women employed. [ It was an implied term of the Claimant’s employment contract that the Respondent would not behave in a way calculated or likely to erode the mutual trust and confidence between employer and employee. ] The Claimant contends that the Respondent subjected her to [ a course of ] discrimination, sex-related harassment, harassment of a sexual nature, and victimisation, which encompassed discriminatory and constructive unfair dismissal. On or around [ insert date ], her colleague, [ insert name ], asked her to send him certain sales reports. She informed [ insert name ] that she was in the process of compiling the figures and would supply the full report after lunch. He replied, ‘No need to bite my head off. Is it that...

[ Confidential and strictly private ] [ Address ] [ Date ] Dear [ insert name(s) of relevant individual(s) at the transferor ], Proposed transfer of [ enter details ] to [ enter name of transferee ] I refer to the proposed [ disposal of your enterprise to [ enter name of transferee ] OR delegation of your [ identify business function ] to [ enter name of transferee ] OR ending of your agreement to...

Note: this letter is prepared in broad terms without reference to any particular scenario. You should adapt the letter where you are advising on an identified employee and the specific facts. Where the employer operates its own performance and capability procedure (or a disciplinary process addressing inadequate performance), you must refer back to that policy throughout the letter, linking each stage of the process and any time limits set within it. You may discover that the employer’s procedure requires additional warnings or imposes other steps. This letter proceeds on the basis that performance review periods will be shorter than the duration of any warnings issued. Ensure cross-references appear at each stage and that all stated deadlines are meticulously observed throughout the procedure. [ name and address of client ] Dear [ name ] Performance and capability procedure I write to outline my advice on running a performance and capability process for an employee whose performance falls below the required standard. The principal legal exposure, if the...