Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Wrongful Dismissal definition

What does Wrongful Dismissal mean? In practice, wrongful dismissal is a contractual employment claim where the employer ends employment in breach of the contract. It is a common‑law term, not defined in statute, and is used consistently across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. It typically arises where the employer: (a) dismisses without giving the contractual (or statutory minimum) notice; (b) makes, or withholds, a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) without a contractual right or in the wrong amount; (c) summarily dismisses without gross misconduct; or (d) ends a fixed‑term contract early without a contractual break right. Constructive wrongful dismissal can arise where...

Wrongful dismissal: assessment of contractual damages, PILONs and liquidated damages, disciplinary procedure breaches, Gunton extension, Johnson exclusion, stigma and psychiatric loss, state benefits, pensions and Acas uplifts

Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

Practice notes

Wrongful Dismissal

This Practice Note explores the remedies (heads of claim) that arise where an employment contract is broken by Dismissal (wrongful dismissal), with a focus on how awards for wrongful dismissal—that is, Damages for breach of the Contract of employment—are calculated. It addresses the overarching principles on eligibility for compensation, termination clauses, payments in lieu of notice (PILONs), agreed (liquidated) damages, damages linked to the manner of dismissal (the Johnson exclusion area or zone), monetary loss arising from stigma or psychiatric injury resulting from pre‑dismissal breach, breach of any contractual disciplinary or dismissal process, loss of the opportunity to pursue an unfair dismissal claim, and the consequences of not complying with the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Under common law, an employee is wrongfully dismissed if the employer terminates in contravention of the contract of employment. Typically, this involves ending employment without the contractual notice, but it can also encompass a supposed summary dismissal for cause (for example, where a single act or a sequence of breaches, taken separately, would not equate to gross misconduct) when, in truth, the employee was not guilty of gross misconduct...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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