Unfair dismissal in the United Kingdom

Not to be confused with Wrongful dismissal in the United Kingdom.

Unfair dismissal in the United Kingdom is the part of UK labour law that requires fair, just and reasonable treatment by employers in cases where a person's job could be terminated. The Employment Rights Act 1996 regulates this by saying that employees are entitled to a fair reason before being dismissed, based on their capability to do the job, their conduct, whether their position is economically redundant, on grounds of a statute, or some other substantial reason. It is automatically unfair for an employer to dismiss an employee, regardless of length of service, becoming pregnant, or having previously asserted certain specified employment rights. Otherwise, an employee must have worked for two 1 years. This means an employer only terminates an employee's job lawfully if the employer follows a fair procedure, acts reasonably and has a fair reason. Contrary to the gov.uk website, it is not automatically unfair for an employer to dismiss an employee for a discriminatory reason protected by the Equality Act 2010 (with the exception of pregnancy); there is no statutory provision for this and it just amounts to ordinary discrimination.