Tribunal Avice

Unfair dismissal takes place when you are dismissed from your employment and your employer did not give a valid reason for your dismissal and/or has acted unreasonably. You may have had notice to end your employment

Unfair dismissal can also take place when a fixed-term contract is not renewed or when an employer forces an employee to retire. Dismissal can instigated verbally or in writing.

There are also cases of Constructive Dismissal where the action of your employer forces you to resign. This could have been due to bullying or sexual harassment of some kind

Reasons for unfair dismissal can include:

You've used, or tried to invoke a statutory employment right – such as for example parental leave
Because you have become pregnant
Because of your membership/ non-membership of a trade union
A dismissal that you feel is unfair, although potentially fair, that could be a result of your conduct, your ability to do your job, redundancy or a legal reason that prevents you from doing your job - for example, losing your driving license if you're job involves driving.

For more information visit Employment Tribunal.