Terminating an employee’s contract is not a simple and straightforward procedure. If an employee would like to leave their position they can do so by resigning formally. If an employer wishes to terminate an employee’s contract, the employer has to do so by dismissing the employee.
There is a strict procedure that an employer has to follow when dismissing an employee. Employers, when dismissing an employee, are normally required to give employees at least the statutory minimum notice period or the notice stated in their contract, whichever is longer.
The statutory minimum notice periods are as follows, depending on an employee’s length of service:
If an employee has been employed between one month and two years, an employer is required to give a minimum of one week’s notice.
Employees that have been with a company for over two years will be given a notice period of one week for each completed year of employment up to a maximum of twelve weeks.
If you need advice about dismissing a member of staff, Employment Dispute Law experts Solicitors is here to offer you our experience and expertise in this area.
An employer can dismiss an employee immediately without any notice, known as summary dismissal, if the employee is being dismissed for gross misconduct. An employer can only terminate a worker’s employment immediately if a serious or dangerous situation has been caused by the employee, for example, theft or violence. A summary dismissal can only be made if a full and fair investigation is carried out into the incident prior to the employee being sacked.
It is extremely important that an employer is fully satisfied that gross misconduct has occurred before an employee is summarily dismissed – if an employer fails to investigate an incident or situation, this may give rise to an employment tribunal case. For this reason it is important that an employer retains the services of a reputable law firm that will be able to give sound and expert advice in such situations.
The specialist team of Employment Dispute Law experts from Solicitors Firms is here to become an integrated part of your HR department and will always been on hand to offer you reliable and precise advice if you are in need of assistance with a member of staff accused of gross misconduct.UK based Employment Law team can help you to minimise the disruption caused in the event you need to summarily dismiss one of your employees.