Wrongful Dismissal
A common law claim for breach of contract where an employer dismisses an employee without giving the contractual or statutory notice period, or in breach of contractual procedures. Damages are limited to the notice period.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Wrongful dismissal is when an employer has breached an employee's contract in the dismissal process, usually to do with notice or notice pay. Examples include dismissing an employee without giving them a notice period or notice pay, not giving someone the full notice period they are entitled to, or failing to follow a contractually binding disciplinary or redundancy procedure.
Wrongful dismissal is not the same as unfair dismissal: unfair dismissal is a statutory claim, while wrongful dismissal is a breach of contract claim. Because it rests on the contract rather than a statutory qualifying period, it does not matter how long an employee has worked for their employer when they want to make a claim for wrongful dismissal. An employee who believes they have been dismissed unfairly, constructively or wrongfully may be able to take the matter to an employment tribunal.
Related terms
Official sources
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