Lost your job

This leaflet tells you what claims you might have against your employer if you have lost your job.

What are your legal rights?

These depend on how long you have been working for the same employer and the reason that you have lost your job.

Outstanding Holiday Pay

In all cases you should be paid any outstanding holiday pay by your employer. See our leaflet on holiday rights to find out your entitlement in detail.

Unpaid wages

In most cases you should be paid up until the day your employment ends. This will be the day your employer says you are dismissed, unless your employer tells you your dismissal will take effect on a day in the future. The only exceptions to this is if you have agreed in advance in writing to your wages being reduced for a particular reason and that reason applies or if your employer has the right in your contract to suspend you without pay.

Notice

If you have worked at least one month for your employer you are entitled to be given a week's notice of your job ending. After one year you become entitled to a week's notice for each full year worked up to a maximum of 12 weeks. If your employer asks you to leave straight away without giving you notice then you are entitled to be paid for the notice period instead.

Your contract might give you more than the minimum notice in which case you would be entitled to the longer period or money instead. If you are paid on a regular basis but your contract does not give you longer notice you might be entitled to ask for notice period up until your next pay day.

The only time your employer can dismiss you without notice is if you have committed serious misconduct like stealing, violence or harassment.

Procedure

Your employer should follow any agreed procedure before dismissing you. Check your contract and handbook to see if you have contractual disciplinary procedures or similar. If your employer lets you go without following an agreed procedure you might be able to claim wages for the time it would have taken to follow the procedure.

Unfair dismissal

No matter how long you have worked for your employer dismissal for some reasons will always be unfair. These reasons include:-

• Trying to use family friendly rights
• Raising a health and safety issue
• Trying to assert rights to be paid the minimum wage, to take time off or other statutory rights
• You are pregnant

Once you have worked for your employer for over one year your dismissal will be unfair unless it is for one of the following reasons:-

• Redundancy
• Incapability of doing your job
• Misconduct
• Contravention of law
• Some other substantial reason

Even if it is for one of the above reasons your employer must have acted reasonably in deciding to dismiss you.

If you are dismissed unfairly you can get a payment similar to a redundancy payment and compensation for any loss of income.

Enforcing your rights

If you cannot get your rights through writing or speaking to your employer then you can take a claim to an Employment Tribunal within three months of your dismissal or the other act you complain of. See www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk.

References

Your employer does not have to give you a reference after you leave but any reference that is given should be fair and accurate. You can try and agree the wording of a reference with your employer. If successful and they fail to give that reference in the future you might have a claim against them.

This document was provided by Islington Law Centre. www.islingtonlaw.org.uk