ACCA F4 - Corp and Business Law (ENG)

Part C Employment law  9: Dismissal and redundancy 141

If the employee gives notice, the minimum period required is one week if they have been employed for at

least one month.

The notice must specify the date of its expiry. Either party may waive their entitlement to notice or accept

a sum in lieu of notice.

The statutory rules on length of notice merely prescribe a minimum. If the contract provides for a longer

period, notice must be given in accordance with the contract.

During the period of notice an employee is entitled to pay at a rate not less than the average of their

earnings over the previous 12 weeks.

If the employee is dismissed in any way they may request their employer gives them a written statement

of the reasons for their dismissal and the employer must provide it within 14 days. The statement must

contain at the least a simple summary of the reasons for dismissal and can be used as admissible

evidence before an employment tribunal.

Dismissal is the word used to describe termination of an employment contract by the employer. Here

are a few definitions relating to dismissal.

Summary dismissal is where the employer dismisses the employee without notice. They may do this if

the employee has committed a serious breach of contract.

Constructive dismissal is where the employer commits a breach of contract, thereby causing the

employee to resign. By implication, this is also dismissal without notice.

Wrongful dismissal is a common law concept arising in specific circumstances. It gives the employee an

action for breach of contract.

Unfair dismissal is a statutory concept introduced by employment protection legislation. As a general

rule, employees have the right not to be unfairly dismissed.

Correspondingly, fair dismissal is a statutory concept where a person has been dismissed as a result of a

fair reason under legislation.

Note that the distinction between wrongful and unfair dismissal depends not so much upon the nature of

the dismissal, as on the remedies available.

2 Termination of employment by breach of contract

Breach of the employment contract occurs where there is summary dismissal, constructive dismissal,

inability on the employer's side to continue employment, or repudiation of the contract by the employee.

An employment contract is terminated by breach in the following circumstances.

 Summary dismissal

 Constructive dismissal

 Inability on the employer's behalf to continue

 Repudiation of the contract by the employee

The concepts of summary dismissal and constructive dismissal are both examples of dismissal without

proper notice. A dismissal with proper notice is generally held to be lawful, unless it is shown to be

wrongful or unfair. However, the reason for dismissal has to be determined in relation to both when the

notice is given and when the employment is terminated.

2.1 Summary dismissal

Summary dismissal occurs where the employer dismisses the employee without notice. They may do this

if the employee has committed a serious breach of contract and, if so, the employer incurs no liability.

Key terms

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