What are the key legal points regarding the termination of employment?
If a contract of employment is terminated by mutual consent, is an employee still entitled to claim unfair dismissal?
Can an employee claim unfair dismissal on expiry of his or her fixed-term contract of employment?
How much notice is a resigning employee required to give his or her employer?
Can an employee retract his or her resignation?
What options does an employer have where an employee who has resigned begins to underperform during his or her notice period?
Can an employee claim unfair dismissal if he or she has resigned?
Where an employee resigns, can the employer pay the employee in lieu of his or her notice period?
Are there any possible repercussions for an employer that persuades an employee who has resigned and accepted an offer with another employer to stay?
How can an employer prevent a possible discussion about a compromise agreement resulting in a claim for constructive dismissal?
Are there any circumstances in which a contract of employment can end without resignation or dismissal?
Can an employer dismiss an employee because he or she is in prison?
Can an employee claim unfair dismissal where a contract that was entered into for the completion of a specific task comes to an end?
Must an employee have been employed for a particular period of time before he or she can claim constructive dismissal?
A constructive dismissal falls within the definition of
dismissal contained in s.95(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Section
95(1)(c) defines a constructive dismissal as arising where "the employee
terminates the contract under which he [or she] is employed (with or without
notice) in circumstances in which he [or she] is entitled to terminate it
without notice by reason of the employer's conduct". This means that the
statutory provisions relating to unfair dismissal apply equally to cases of constructive
dismissal. Under s.108 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the right not to
be unfairly dismissed does not generally apply to an employee unless he or she
has been continuously employed by the employer for a period of not less than
one year ending with the effective date of termination of employment. Therefore, as
a general rule, an employee must have been employed for at least one year (or two years if his or her employment begins on or after 6 April 2012)
before he or she can claim unfair constructive dismissal.
However, there are a number of important exceptions to this
rule. No qualifying period of employment is needed where the reason for the
constructive dismissal is one of the reasons set out in s.108(3) of the Employment Rights
Act 1996. These include (but are not limited to) where the
employee was forced to resign as a result of the employer's conduct for a
reason related to: pregnancy, childbirth or maternity leave; health and safety;
the assertion of a right under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833); the making of
a protected disclosure; the assertion of a right under the National Minimum
Wage Act 1998; and the making of an application to work flexibly under the
statutory right to request flexible working.
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Will the dismissal of an employee who is taken on temporarily to fill in for a pregnant woman be fair?
Where a fixed-term employee's contract is due to terminate while she is on maternity leave, does the employer have any obligation to re-employ her at the end of her maternity leave?
Where an individual has been employed on a 12-month fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave, can the employer terminate the contract early if the woman on maternity leave decides to return early?
Are employees on fixed-term contracts entitled to statutory notice of their dismissal?