Unfair dismissal, unlawful dismissal, constructive dismissal; what is the difference? Any dismissal may be one of these things depending on circumstances and all of them can be the basis for legal action against you.

If you are an employer who is thinking of dismissing an employee, think carefully and make sure that the process you follow is fair and complies with current legislation and employment law. If you don’t follow the rules you may find that action is taken against you and this will definitely take up a lot of your valuable time and can cost a lot of money. This is particularly true if you decide to dismiss the employee either because they have a previous warning on their records or because the offence in question constitutes gross misconduct.

Dismissing an employee can be stressful and it is critical that both sides have a fair hearing and that a proper and recorded process takes place. Take advice from an HR Consultant or Employment Law specialist before you start, in that way you will get the process right and hopefully avoid potential litigation.