BWF members such as yourselves frequently use our Member and Technical Helplines for assistance on a wide range of Employment, Health and Safety, Contractual and Technical issues. We’re putting up a frequently asked question every Tuesday in order to help members and illustrate the type of advice we are able to provide. If you have any questions that you would like to see featured, we would be happy to assist. This question and many others like it can be found in our Question Centre. If you want further advice on any of the issues, don’t hesitate to ring the helpline or browse our extensive publications library, which includes our ‘Discipline in Employment’ guide, redundancy guidance, age discrimination advice, procedures for dealing with ill health absences, and, of course, the BWF’s Employee Handbook. This week: Can I dismiss an employee who has worked for the company for less than 1 year? Usually, employees do not accrue protection from unfair dismissal until they have 51 weeks continuous service (as the one week statutory notice period can be added to the length of service to amount to one continuous year). However, there are certain categories of dismissal which can be ‘automatically unfair’ such as a pregnancy-related dismissal and in these situations, an unfair dismissal claim can be brought no matter what length of service the employee has accrued.
Employees with less than one year’s service can also bring breach of contract claims if insufficient notice is given to them. Discrimination claims can also be brought, no matter what the length of service.
Aside from these risks, it is generally safest to dismiss an unsatisfactory employee before they acquire 51 weeks’ service. It is however recommended as a minimum that a fair and equitable Dismissal Procedure is followed which involves warning of the risk of dismissal, providing the right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative at a meeting and the right of appeal.