AC 3.5 An explanation of the difference between fair and unfair dismissal

CIPD Dismissal Procedures Factsheet (2021) defines the dismissal of an employee as an instance where employers terminate an employee’s contract either with or without notifying them. Dismissal can also occur when fixed employee contracts end and are not renewed. Furthermore, dismissal can occur when employees decide to leave with or without notifying their employer. In most instances across the UK, dismissal is mostly associated with misconduct, redundancy and inability to perform some tasks. Dismissal is classified into two distinctive categories fair and unfair dismissal. For a dismissal to be fair in the UK, it must be because of these five reasons: qualifications, conduct, illegality, other substantial reasons, and redundancy (CIPD Dismissal Procedures Factsheet 2021).

In addition to that, there are several statutory rules relating to discussions about a likely fair dismissal. For instance, for a dismissal to be fair, an employer must have acted fairly, a proper investigation must have been conducted, the dismissal must have followed a fair procedure and many others. Now shifting our attention to unfair dismissal is a complex process that calls for an in-depth understanding of numerous law clauses, such as the Employment Rights Act 1996 (CIPD Dismissal Procedures Factsheet 2021). Some key basis of unfair dismissal occurs when employees are dismissed without fair and justifiable reasons, when employers fail to follow a justifiable procedure or when they are not given a chance to oppose their dismissal (Acas 2022).