What is Unfair Dismissal?

Employees who satisfy the relevant eligibility requirements have a statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed.

The main protection is contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Where an ordinary unfair dismissal claim is brought, the employer must first establish the reason, or principal reason, for the dismissal and show that it falls within one of the potentially fair categories recognised by law.

The five principal potentially fair reasons are:

• Capability or qualifications
• Conduct
• Redundancy
• Statutory restriction
• Some other substantial reason

Establishing one of these reasons does not automatically make the dismissal fair.

The employer must also have acted reasonably in treating that reason as sufficient to dismiss the employee and must normally have followed a fair procedure.

The Five Potentially Fair Reasons for Dismissal

1. Capability or Qualifications

Capability concerns whether you are able to perform the work you were employed to do.

This can involve matters such as:

• Poor performance
• Lack of ability
• Long-term ill health
• Loss of an essential qualification

An employer considering dismissal for poor performance should normally first take appropriate steps to support improvement.

These can include:

• Explaining the required standard
• Giving appropriate training
• Providing reasonable support
• Allowing a reasonable period for improvement
• Giving appropriate warnings

Dismissal should not automatically be the first response to an ordinary performance problem.

For further guidance, see Poor Performance and Performance Improvement Plans.

Capability can also relate to health.

Where illness or disability is involved, the employer may need to consider:

• Medical evidence
• Occupational health advice
• Reasonable adjustments
• Alternative duties
• Redeployment

For further information, see Sickness and Disability Discrimination.

2. Conduct

Conduct can provide a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

Examples can include:

• Dishonesty
• Persistent lateness
• Unauthorised absence
• Refusal to follow reasonable instructions
• Serious breaches of workplace rules
• Inappropriate workplace behaviour

Less serious misconduct would normally require a fair disciplinary process and, in many cases, previous warnings before dismissal becomes reasonable.

More serious conduct may potentially amount to Gross Misconduct.

Gross misconduct can justify dismissal without notice where the employer reasonably concludes, after a fair process, that the conduct was sufficiently serious.

Even in a potential gross misconduct case, the employer should normally investigate before deciding to dismiss.

3. Redundancy

A genuine Redundancy situation is another potentially fair reason for dismissal.

However, the existence of a redundancy situation does not automatically make every redundancy dismissal fair.

The employer should normally consider matters such as:

• Appropriate consultation
• A Fair selection pool
• Reasonable selection criteria
• Fair scoring
• Suitable alternative employment

Automatically unfair or discriminatory selection criteria must not be used.

The Tribunal can therefore find that there was a genuine redundancy situation but that a particular employee was nevertheless unfairly dismissed because of the way the redundancy process was handled.

4. Statutory Restriction

Dismissal may potentially be fair where continuing to employ someone in their existing role would contravene a legal requirement.

For example, this could arise where an employee:

• Must drive for their job
• Loses the driving licence legally required to perform that work

The employer should still act reasonably.

Depending on the circumstances, it may be appropriate to consider whether:

• Alternative duties are available
• Another role could be offered
• The Legal restriction is temporary

The fact that a statutory restriction exists does not remove the requirement to consider overall reasonableness.

5. Some Other Substantial Reason

The fifth category is known as:

Some Other Substantial Reason

It is commonly abbreviated to SOSR.

This category can potentially cover substantial reasons that do not fit within the other four categories.

Examples can include:

• Serious breakdown in working relationships
• Significant third-party pressure
• Non-renewal of certain fixed-term arrangements
• Business reorganisations
• Refusal to accept necessary contractual changes

However, the reason must genuinely be substantial.

A simple personality clash or an employer merely disliking an employee will not automatically provide a fair reason to dismiss.

The employer must still show that dismissal was reasonable in all the circumstances.

Dismissal and Re-Engagement

Where an employer proposes significant contractual changes and employees refuse to agree, dismissal followed by an offer of re-engagement on new terms can currently potentially fall within SOSR in appropriate circumstances.

The employer should first undertake genuine consultation and explore alternatives.

The statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement is also relevant to current cases.

This area will change significantly from 1 January 2027, when stronger protections under the Employment Rights Act 2025 will make dismissal and re-engagement automatically unfair in most of the circumstances covered by the new statutory rules.

Is a Potentially Fair Reason Enough?

No.

The employer must establish a potentially fair reason, but that is only the first part of the legal test.

The Employment Tribunal must then decide whether the employer acted reasonably in treating that reason as sufficient to dismiss.

The Employment Rights Act requires the Tribunal to decide the question having regard to:

Equity and the substantial merits of the case

The Tribunal also takes account of factors such as:

• Size of the employer
• Administrative resources
• Circumstances surrounding the dismissal

What is the Range of Reasonable Responses?

Employment Tribunals commonly apply the range of reasonable responses approach.

The question is not simply whether the Employment Judge personally would have dismissed you.

The question is whether dismissal fell within the range of decisions that a reasonable employer could have made in those circumstances.

This is important because more than one reasonable outcome may sometimes have been available.

For example, one employer might reasonably issue a final written warning while another might reasonably dismiss, depending on the seriousness of the conduct and surrounding circumstances.

However, if dismissal falls outside the range of reasonable responses, it can be unfair.

What is the Difference Between Unfair Dismissal and Constructive Dismissal?

An ordinary unfair dismissal usually occurs where the employer terminates your employment and you challenge the fairness of that decision.

A Constructive Dismissal usually occurs where you resign because your employer has committed a sufficiently serious breach of your employment contract.

Although you technically resign, the law can treat you as having been dismissed.

To establish constructive dismissal, you will normally need to show:

• Your Employer committed a fundamental breach of contract
• You Resigned in response to that breach
• You Did not affirm the contract before resigning

Establishing constructive dismissal does not automatically mean that you will receive compensation for unfair dismissal.

You must also satisfy the relevant unfair dismissal requirements.

As at September 2026, this will usually include the applicable qualifying-service requirement unless an exception applies.

Can My Employer Rely on Something Discovered After I Was Dismissed?

Not to retrospectively establish the fairness of the original dismissal.

The fairness of a dismissal is generally judged by reference to:

• The Actual reason for dismissal
• What the employer knew or reasonably believed when it dismissed you
• The Investigation and decision-making process at that time

An employer cannot ordinarily discover completely new misconduct after dismissal and then use that information to rewrite the original reason for dismissal so that an otherwise unfair dismissal becomes fair.

Can Later-Discovered Misconduct Still Affect Compensation?

Potentially, yes.

This is an important distinction.

Misconduct discovered only after dismissal might not make the original dismissal fair, but it can potentially affect the amount of compensation awarded if the Tribunal considers this just and equitable.

In a serious case, subsequently discovered misconduct could significantly reduce compensation.

This means that the questions:

• Was the dismissal unfair?
• How much compensation should be awarded?

can produce different legal considerations.

How Important is a Fair Dismissal Procedure?

A fair procedure is extremely important.

An employer can have a genuine potentially fair reason for dismissal and still lose an unfair dismissal claim because the way it handled the matter was unreasonable.

However, it is too absolute to say that every procedural error automatically makes every dismissal unfair.

The Tribunal considers the process as a whole.

Relevant issues can include:

• Investigation
• Information given to the employee
• Opportunity to respond
• Warnings
• Consultation
• Right to be accompanied where applicable
• Right of appeal

An effective internal appeal can sometimes correct defects in an earlier stage of the procedure.

The Acas Code of Practice

For dismissals involving:

• Misconduct
• Poor performance

the employer should follow a fair procedure consistent with the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

Depending on the circumstances, this will normally include:

• A Reasonable investigation
• Written information about the allegations or concerns
• A Formal meeting
• An Opportunity to respond
• Appropriate warnings where required
• A Right to be accompanied at qualifying disciplinary hearings
• A Right of appeal

For further guidance, see Dismissal and Disciplinary Process.

What Happens if the Acas Code is Not Followed?

Failure to follow the Acas Code does not, by itself, automatically create a separate legal claim.

However, an Employment Tribunal can take the failure into account when deciding whether a relevant dismissal was fair.

Where an employer unreasonably fails to comply with the Code, the Tribunal can also increase an applicable award by up to:

25%

An employee's unreasonable failure to comply can potentially result in a corresponding reduction of up to 25%.

The Acas disciplinary Code does not apply to every type of dismissal.

For example, an ordinary redundancy dismissal follows its own consultation and fairness requirements.

What is the Qualifying Period for Unfair Dismissal?

As at 10 September 2026, an employee will usually need:

2 years' continuous employment

to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim.

The two-year period is the statutory rule.

The frequently used expression 23 months and 3 weeks is only shorthand based on the interaction between qualifying service and statutory minimum notice in certain cases.

It should not be treated as the legal qualifying period itself.

Is the Qualifying Period Changing?

Yes.

From 1 January 2027, the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period will reduce from:

2 years

to:

6 months

The change applies across:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales

Existing day-one protections for many automatically unfair reasons remain separate.

Can Statutory Notice Help Me Reach the Qualifying Period?

Potentially.

Special rules apply when calculating the effective date of termination for qualifying-service purposes.

If your employer dismisses you without giving the statutory minimum notice you were entitled to receive, the law can in certain circumstances treat your effective date of termination as if the statutory notice had expired.

For an employee with between one month and two years' service, the statutory minimum notice is generally:

1 week

This means that an employee dismissed shortly before reaching two years may potentially satisfy the qualifying-service requirement once the relevant statutory notice period is taken into account.

Does Contractual Notice Always Get Added?

No.

The statutory deeming provision concerns the minimum statutory notice required by law.

It should not be assumed that a lengthy contractual notice period is automatically added after an immediate dismissal purely to create unfair-dismissal jurisdiction.

The precise effective date of termination should be calculated under the statutory rules.

What if I Was Properly Dismissed for Gross Misconduct?

Different rules apply where the employer was legally entitled to terminate the contract without notice because of the employee's conduct.

Where a valid summary dismissal for gross misconduct is established, the employee may not be entitled to rely on the statutory notice extension to reach the qualifying-service threshold.

This can be particularly important where an employee is dismissed only a few days before completing the required service.

When Does Notice Normally Start?

Your employment contract may specify when notice starts.

If it does not, Acas guidance states that where notice is communicated in person, the notice period will normally start on the day after the employer tells you that you are being dismissed.

Where notice is given in writing, the start date can depend on when you have had a reasonable opportunity to read it.

The precise date can be important when calculating:

• Effective date of termination
• Qualifying service
• Tribunal limitation periods

Being placed on garden leave does not itself mean that employment has already ended.

What About Breaks in Continuous Employment?

Some breaks in work do not necessarily break statutory continuity of employment.

Whether continuity is preserved depends on the statutory rules and circumstances.

Examples can involve certain:

• Temporary cessations of work
• Arrangements or customs
• Statutorily protected absences

The precise employment history may therefore need to be checked before concluding that the qualifying period has not been met.

Automatic Unfair Dismissal

Some reasons for dismissal are treated as automatically unfair.

For many of these claims, the ordinary two-year qualifying period does not apply.

Examples can include dismissal because of:

• Pregnancy or maternity
• Taking or seeking certain family leave
• Exercising time-off-for-dependants rights
• Whistleblowing
• Certain health and safety activities
• Trade union membership or activities
• Exercising certain working-time rights
• Requesting flexible working
• Jury service
• Asserting certain statutory employment rights

For further guidance, see Automatically Unfair Dismissal.

Does Every Claim Described as Automatically Unfair Have No Qualifying Period?

Not necessarily.

It is important to identify the exact statutory protection.

For example, a dismissal where the sole or principal reason is a TUPE transfer can be automatically unfair under the TUPE rules, but the ordinary qualifying period for unfair dismissal generally still applies to that transfer-related unfair dismissal claim.

This is different from separate TUPE information and consultation rights, which do not generally require two years' service.

For further information, see TUPE.

Automatic Unfair Dismissal for Asserting a Statutory Right

One important category arises where an employee is dismissed because they:

• Brought proceedings to enforce a relevant statutory employment right
• Alleged that their employer had infringed a relevant statutory employment right

This protection is designed to prevent an employer retaliating against an employee for asserting specified employment rights.

Relevant statutory rights can include rights relating to matters such as:

• Statutory maternity rights
• Holiday
• Unlawful deductions from wages
• Minimum wage
• Accompaniment at certain disciplinary or grievance hearings

For further guidance, see Asserting a Statutory Right.

Do I Have to Prove That the Statutory Right Was Actually Breached?

Not necessarily.

For the purposes of this particular protection, it can be immaterial whether:

• You Actually had the statutory right
• The Employer had actually infringed it

However, the assertion that the right existed and had been infringed must be made in good faith.

The critical issue is whether your assertion or proceedings were the reason, or principal reason, for dismissal.

Does the Assertion Need to Be Made Before Dismissal?

The protection is concerned with dismissal because you brought proceedings or alleged infringement of a relevant statutory right.

There must therefore be a causal connection between the protected assertion or proceedings and the employer's decision to dismiss.

An allegation first invented after the dismissal obviously could not have caused the earlier dismissal.

What if I Complained About Discrimination?

Complaining about discrimination can create protection under the victimisation provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

For example, an employer must not subject you to a detriment because you made a qualifying allegation of discrimination or supported another person's Equality Act complaint.

For further guidance, see Victimisation and Discrimination.

Discrimination claims do not require two years' qualifying service.

What if I Do Not Have Enough Service for Ordinary Unfair Dismissal?

You may still have other potential employment claims.

Depending on the circumstances, these can include:

• Automatically unfair dismissal
• Discrimination
• Wrongful dismissal
• Unlawful deductions from wages
• Whistleblowing
• Other statutory claims

A Wrongful Dismissal claim is fundamentally different from unfair dismissal.

Wrongful dismissal is a contractual claim and commonly concerns issues such as:

• Failure to give contractual notice
• Failure to pay notice
• Breach of a contractually binding dismissal procedure

There is no ordinary two-year qualifying-service requirement for wrongful dismissal.

What if I Am Dismissed Just Before Completing 2 Years?

The statutory notice rules discussed above may be important.

For example, an employee dismissed without notice less than one week before reaching two years' service may potentially be able to rely on the statutory notice extension when calculating qualifying service.

However, this does not mean that every employee one week short of two years automatically qualifies.

Among other things, the position can be different where the employer establishes that it was entitled to dismiss summarily for gross misconduct.

The correct approach is therefore to calculate the statutory effective date of termination rather than automatically applying a 23 months and 3 weeks rule.

Who Cannot Normally Claim Unfair Dismissal?

Ordinary unfair dismissal protection principally applies to people with the legal status of employee.

People who are genuinely:

• Self-employed
• Independent contractors

will not normally have ordinary unfair dismissal rights.

Many people with the legal status of worker, rather than employee, also do not have the ordinary statutory right to claim unfair dismissal, although they may have other important employment rights.

There are also specific statutory exclusions and special rules affecting some categories of work and employment.

For further guidance, see Who Cannot Claim Unfair Dismissal.

Compensation for Unfair Dismissal

If an Employment Tribunal finds that you were unfairly dismissed, the available remedies can include:

• Reinstatement
• Re-engagement
• Compensation

Where compensation is awarded, it will commonly consist of:

• A Basic award
• A Compensatory award

These two elements are calculated differently.

Basic Award

The basic award is calculated using a statutory formula based principally on:

• Age
• Complete years of continuous employment
• A Statutory week's pay

A maximum of 20 years' service can normally be counted.

The calculation generally provides:

• 1.5 Weeks' pay for each complete year aged 41 or over
• 1 Week's pay for each complete year aged 22 to 40
• 0.5 Week's pay for each complete year under age 22

The relevant age for each year of service is considered when applying the statutory formula.

What is the Maximum Week's Pay?

For relevant dismissals taking place on or after 6 April 2026, the statutory maximum week's pay is:

£751

This means the maximum ordinary basic award is currently:

£22,530

The figure is calculated as:

20 years × 1.5 weeks × £751

The actual award may be significantly lower depending on your:

• Age
• Service
• Weekly pay

Can the Basic Award Be Reduced?

Yes.

The Tribunal can reduce a basic award in a number of circumstances.

For example, if your conduct before dismissal was such that the Tribunal considers it just and equitable to reduce the basic award, it can do so.

This can apply even where the conduct was not itself the principal reason for dismissal.

What if I Already Received Statutory Redundancy Pay?

The basic award uses a formula closely related to statutory redundancy pay.

Where you have already received a statutory redundancy payment for the same dismissal, the Tribunal will normally reduce the unfair dismissal basic award to prevent duplication.

If the employer fails to establish that the dismissal was genuinely by reason of redundancy, different considerations can arise.

Compensatory Award

The compensatory award is intended to compensate for financial loss caused by the unfair dismissal.

The Employment Rights Act provides that the award should be the amount the Tribunal considers just and equitable in all the circumstances, having regard to the loss sustained because of the dismissal insofar as that loss is attributable to the employer's action.

It is compensatory rather than punitive.

The Tribunal does not award a large sum simply to punish an employer for behaving badly.

What Losses Can Form Part of a Compensatory Award?

Depending on the circumstances, recoverable losses can include:

• Past loss of earnings
• Future loss of earnings
• Loss of contractual benefits
• Pension loss
• Loss of bonus
• Loss of commission
• Loss of statutory employment protection
• Reasonable expenses caused by dismissal

Benefits can potentially include items such as:

• Company car
• Private medical insurance
• Other contractual benefits

A discretionary bonus or commission may also form part of the calculation where you can establish a reasonable likelihood that you would have received it but for the dismissal.

Can I Claim Injury to Feelings for Ordinary Unfair Dismissal?

Not normally.

An ordinary unfair dismissal compensatory award is principally concerned with financial loss.

There is no general standalone award for:

• Hurt feelings
• Distress
• Humiliation

simply because a dismissal was unfair.

Different compensation can be available where the same facts also establish a separate claim such as unlawful discrimination.

How is Future Loss of Earnings Calculated?

Future loss is necessarily an assessment of what is likely to happen.

The Tribunal may consider matters such as:

• Your Age
• Employment history
• Occupation
• Job market
• Earnings before dismissal
• Earnings after dismissal
• Likelihood of obtaining equivalent employment
• Expected career progression

The Tribunal will determine a reasonable period over which the dismissal is likely to continue causing financial loss.

There is no automatic entitlement to salary until:

• Retirement
• The Date of the final hearing
• A Particular arbitrary date

The evidence must support the claimed period of loss.

Do I Have to Look for Another Job?

Yes.

A claimant is generally expected to take reasonable steps to mitigate financial loss.

This normally means making reasonable attempts to obtain suitable alternative employment.

Evidence can include:

• Job applications
• Recruitment correspondence
• Interviews
• Job-search records
• Applications through recruitment agencies

You are not necessarily required immediately to accept any job regardless of:

• Salary
• Seniority
• Location
• Nature of work

However, failing to make reasonable efforts to reduce your loss can result in compensation being reduced.

What is the Current Maximum Compensatory Award?

For relevant dismissals on or after 6 April 2026, the ordinary compensatory award is currently capped at the lower of:

£123,543

or

52 weeks' gross pay calculated under the statutory rules

The basic award is separate from this ordinary compensatory award cap.

The £123,543 figure therefore does not mean that every successful unfair dismissal claimant will receive anything close to that amount.

The Tribunal first assesses the actual recoverable loss.

Is the Compensatory Award Cap Changing?

Yes.

This is a significant forthcoming change.

From 1 January 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 will remove the existing statutory cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal.

This means the current:

• £123,543 Monetary cap
• 52 Weeks' pay cap

will cease to limit compensatory awards for claims falling within the new regime.

However, removal of the cap does not mean compensation becomes automatically unlimited in practice.

The compensatory award will continue to be based on:

• Actual loss
• Projected loss
• Causation
• Mitigation
• What the Tribunal considers just and equitable

The employee must still prove the loss caused by the unfair dismissal.

Are Any Unfair Dismissal Claims Already Uncapped?

Yes, but the current exceptions are narrower than the source material suggested.

As at September 2026, the ordinary unfair dismissal compensatory award cap does not apply to certain dismissals connected with:

• Whistleblowing
• Specified health and safety reasons

It is therefore not correct to say that every automatically unfair dismissal claim is currently uncapped.

For example, dismissal for asserting a statutory right can be automatically unfair but does not simply become uncapped on that basis alone.

What About Discrimination?

Compensation under the Equality Act is separately uncapped.

If the same dismissal amounts to both:

• Unfair dismissal
• Unlawful discrimination

the employee may therefore have separate remedies under each statutory regime.

Double recovery for the same financial loss is not permitted.

How Does the Tribunal Deal With Money I Have Already Received?

A Tribunal will seek to avoid compensating you twice for the same loss.

Depending on what the payments represent, it may need to consider sums already received such as:

• Notice pay
• Redundancy payments
• Severance payments
• Earnings from a new job

The legal treatment is not identical for every payment.

A sum should not simply be deducted without considering why it was paid and which part of the claimed loss it relates to.

What is a Polkey Reduction?

An unfair dismissal can be procedurally unfair even though the employer argues that the employee would ultimately have been dismissed anyway.

In such cases, the Tribunal can consider what would probably have happened if the employer had followed a fair procedure.

This is commonly known as a Polkey reduction.

For example, the Tribunal may conclude that:

• A Fair process would certainly have resulted in dismissal
• A Fair process would probably have resulted in dismissal after several weeks
• There was a percentage chance that employment would have continued

The compensatory award can then be reduced to reflect that finding.

A finding of procedural unfairness therefore does not necessarily mean that the claimant will recover all claimed future losses.

Can My Conduct Reduce Compensation?

Yes.

This is different from a Polkey reduction.

If the Tribunal finds that your conduct caused or contributed to your dismissal, it can reduce the compensatory award by the proportion it considers just and equitable.

Employee conduct can also separately affect the basic award under the statutory rules.

Depending on the circumstances, reductions can be substantial.

The fact that a dismissal was unfair does not therefore guarantee a full compensatory award.

What is the Norton Tool Principle?

A specialist issue can arise where an employee is unfairly dismissed without notice and obtains alternative earnings during what would otherwise have been their notice period.

The historic Norton Tool principle means that, in an ordinary unfair dismissal case, earnings obtained elsewhere during that notional notice period are not necessarily deducted in the same way as ordinary mitigation earnings.

However, this is not an inflexible rule applying identically in every case.

The Tribunal must still assess what compensation is just and equitable.

Does the Norton Tool Principle Apply to Constructive Dismissal?

No, not in the same way.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the Norton Tool approach does not apply in the same manner to constructive unfair dismissal.

Where an employee resigns and obtains new earnings during what would have been the notice period, those earnings can be taken into account when assessing the financial loss.

Is Wrongful Dismissal Different?

Yes.

Wrongful dismissal is a contractual damages claim.

Ordinary contractual mitigation principles apply to wrongful dismissal damages.

This is another reason why:

• Unfair dismissal
• Wrongful dismissal

should not be treated as interchangeable claims.

How is Tax Dealt With on an Unfair Dismissal Award?

Tax treatment can be complicated.

Compensation connected with termination can potentially benefit from the general £30,000 termination-payment threshold, but not every element of an employment award receives that treatment.

For example, separate tax rules can apply to amounts representing:

• Salary
• Holiday pay
• Post-Employment Notice Pay

Where an unfair dismissal award has been calculated by reference to net financial loss and part of the compensation will be taxable, a Tribunal may need to gross up the award so that the claimant receives the intended amount after tax.

For further guidance, see Tax Treatment in Settlement Agreements.

Can Grossing Up Take the Award Above the Current Compensatory Cap?

No.

Under the current capped regime, the Tribunal carries out the relevant compensation adjustments, including any necessary grossing up, before finally applying the statutory compensatory award cap.

The statutory cap therefore remains the final limit on the ordinary compensatory award where the cap applies.

This becomes less relevant once the ordinary compensatory award cap is removed from 1 January 2027.

Does an Existing Severance Payment Make an Unfair Dismissal Claim Worthless?

Not necessarily.

A previous termination payment can affect the financial value of a claim where it compensates for losses that would otherwise also be claimed in the Tribunal.

However, the existence of a severance payment does not automatically mean:

• The Dismissal was fair
• No Employment claim exists
• Every part of the payment must be deducted

The precise payment terms and legal claims should be considered.

Can I Negotiate a Settlement Instead of Going to Tribunal?

Yes.

Unfair dismissal disputes are frequently resolved without a final Tribunal hearing.

Negotiations can take place:

• Before Acas Early Conciliation
• During Early Conciliation
• After an ET1 has been presented

Possible settlement terms can include:

• Financial compensation
• Notice
• Holiday pay
• Bonus or commission
• Reference wording
• Confidentiality
• Treatment of benefits
• Treatment of shares or options

Where a legally binding private settlement of statutory employment claims is reached, the terms will normally be recorded in a Settlement Agreement and the statutory requirements for a valid agreement must be satisfied.

A settlement reached with the assistance of Acas can instead be recorded in a binding COT3.

What is the Time Limit for an Unfair Dismissal Claim?

Strict Employment Tribunal deadlines apply.

As at 10 September 2026, an unfair dismissal claim will generally need to be started within:

3 months minus 1 day

from the effective date of termination.

You must normally notify Acas before presenting the Tribunal claim.

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most claims, including unfair dismissal, increases to:

6 months minus 1 day

where the relevant limitation period starts on or after that date.

Acas Early Conciliation can alter the final filing date.

For further guidance, see Time Limits and Tribunal Proceedings.