What is wrongful dismissal?

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Wrongful dismissal is a contractual breach on termination of an employee’s contract of employment. It is the employers' termination that can trigger a breach of one or more terms of the contract and can include an employer’s failure to follow a contractual dismissal procedure or by unlawfully terminating a fixed-term contract before expiry of the term.

 

The most common wrongful dismissal claims are dismissal without notice or notice pay and dismissing without working notice.​

What is the  difference between wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal?

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There are clear differences between the terms unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal, although often they are both included at the same time as heads of a claim brought in an employment tribunal.  The main differences between them in law is that unfair dismissal concerns statutory rights, while wrongful dismissal relates to contractual rights.

 

The amount of damages awarded to employees for wrongful dismissal includes the value of pay and benefits.  This would be items such as pension entitlement, health cover, any car allowance and bonuses which arise that the employee would have received had the contract been terminated lawfully.

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