Introduction to dismissal and the legal framework for fair dismissal

Covering Assessment Criterion 3.5 of the 3CO04 unit, this video addresses the legal distinction between fair and unfair dismissal under UK employment law, with particular attention to the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the qualifying period of two years' continuous service required before an employee can bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. The video also introduces the category of automatically unfair dismissals, which carry no qualifying period and represent a distinct and significant area of employment law.

A substantial portion of the video is given over to the five potentially fair reasons for dismissal established by the Employment Rights Act 1996: capability or qualifications, conduct, redundancy, statutory illegality, and some other substantial reason (SOSR). Beyond identifying a valid reason, the video examines the reasonableness test that employment tribunals apply, including the band of reasonable responses standard, and outlines the factors tribunals consider when assessing whether an employer acted reasonably — such as the conduct of investigations and the employee's opportunity to respond.

The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures features directly in the video's treatment of procedural fairness, including the tribunal's power to adjust compensation by up to twenty-five per cent where the Code has been unreasonably disregarded. The video also touches on how fairness in dismissal is perceived not only by the parties directly involved but more broadly, connecting the legal framework to the wider sense of fairness that shapes how dismissal decisions are judged in practice.