For both employers and employees, the firing process has challenges and difficulty with numerous complexities to consider. If it does not get conducted with consideration and diligence, the HR team is likely to face countless wrongful and unfair termination suits.
Most people assume that one stands for the other. However, this is not always the case. The statutory rights cover unfair termination, while wrongful termination is a failed contractual agreement with employers.
According to the Employment Rights Act 1996, for you to show that you get unfairly dismissed, you should have worked continuously for the company for two years or more. You also show proof that the two-limb test is unmet. The first limb is about why you faced the dismissal.
There are five reasons covered here. If the termination is not because of any of these reasons, it gets seen as unfair. Also, the court must determine if the dismissal had the backing of reasonable circumstances having in mind the size of the company and its resources.
Wrongful termination is about denying an employee the correct amount of statutory notice. However, there are no reasons for you to have a set period of working with the company. They can file the claim as long as there are signs that your dismissal was wrongful. Your complaint should get handed over to the employment tribunal in three months or less for it to be valid.
You may file for either wrongful termination or unfair dismissal sequentially because there are factors that overlap in both. Such action will have an impact on the value of the awards you will get if you win the case.