Termination of Employment

An employment contract may be ended for different reasons, including redundancy, dismissal, resignation, the end of a fixed-term contract and retirement. It is essential to follow the correct procedure in ending a contract to ensure that you do not leave yourself at risk of a claim.

Our Employment Team deals extensively with employment contract termination for a range of clients including businesses of all sizes and their HR departments.

We can advise you of your rights and responsibilities and ensure that the correct process is followed.

Our Employment team has a high level of expertise in the sector. Our team leader is a well-known employment expert who makes regular appearances on the Vanessa Feltz TV show to talk about employment issues. We are also regularly seen on social media and in magazines and newspapers as recognised employment law experts.

Redundancy

The redundancy process for employers is complex and you are required to go through each stage thoroughly. If you have a redundancy policy, this must be followed. You need to have a valid reason for making someone redundant and you are required to consider whether there are any other options open to you, such as reducing overtime or retraining staff to work elsewhere within your organisation.

You need to advise all affected employees that you are considering redundancies and confirm in writing to those at risk why redundancy is necessary, whether there are other options and how the procedure will be conducted.

It is a requirement to consult with employees and take any suggestions they may have into account. Where twenty or more are at risk, you need to go through a collective consultation procedure which has significant legal duties attached.

A pool of candidates must be put together and you will need to advise them of the selection criteria you will be using. The process is complex and it is essential that it is conducted fairly or your organisation could face claims of unfair dismissal.

Dismissal

If you wish to dismiss an employee, you need a fair reason for doing so. This can include conduct, capability, redundancy or some other substantial reason.

Where dismissal is because of something the employee has done or not done, reasonable attempts need to be made to deal with the situation, unless it is an issue of gross misconduct. By way of example, if the issue is one of capability, you can give the employee support or training and carry out monitoring of the situation. 

If you are considering making redundancies or dismissing an employee, our team can advise you on the steps to be taken to minimise the risk of a claim being made against you.

Advice for employees

We also advise employees who are facing redundancy or dismissal. We will ensure that the correct procedure has been followed and, where appropriate, bring a claim for unfair or constructive dismissal on your behalf.