employee dismissal

[Sam2868]

I have an employee i wish to dismiss

He has worked for us for 7 to 8 months and in that time he has approached one of our clients to work for them directly on more than one occasion - this is simply not acceptable

Can I just give him his notice and any holiday pay due and let him go or is there some legal procedure I must follow

 

[Scalloway]

Anyone employed for less than two years can be dismissed without any reason being given.

 

[UKSBD]

Delete the 2nd paragraph and don't mention it again.

 

[adamcooke]

As long as your reasons for dismissal are "fair", you can give him his notice.

Check the gov.uk site for full details: https://www.gov.uk/dismiss-staff/overview

 

[Sam2868]

Delete the 2nd paragraph and don't mention it again.

how do i do that?

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

As Scalloway has said, you can dismiss without giving a reason, and you don't have to go through any formalities apart from paying notice & holiday pay.

The exception to Scalloway's post (not relevant here) is when the employee is pregnant: in those cases, they have to be provided with a reason for dismissal, regardless of length of service.


Karl Limpert

 

[StanleyPCS]

I have had the exact same issue in the past, the employee was told to leave immediately and Industry friends were all notified that he can't be trusted.

To my knowledge he hasn't been employed by anybody in the industry locally since.

 

[UKSBD]

how do i do that?

looks like a mod did it for you

 

[Sam2868]

acas are telling me i should go through 'best practise' ie disciplinary procedure as some claims do not relate to any particular time served - i just want to give this employee 1 weeks notice today - i've just paid him for 2 weeks holiday and he's had all statutories since last december - i just dont want to end up in some tribunal situation??

 

[Scalloway]

As far as I am aware the only reasons he could go to a tribunal is discrimination, the main one being pregnancy. If the employee is male I don't think that one applies.

 

[Sarah from LoatesHR]

Hi this is my first post so I hope it helps.

Employees are only protected against unfair dismissal once they have been employed for at least two years (one year if their employment began before 6 April 2012).

There are certain types of dismissal as ACAS indicated (called an automatically unfair dismissal) which count from day one of employment (for example, dismissing someone because she is pregnant, whistle blowing or for asserting a statutory right such as the right to request flexible working, or entitlements under the Working Time Regulations) but dismissing an employee in the first two years because their performance or conduct is not up to scratch will not be an unfair dismissal.

One consideration not discussed on previous posts if that you need to look at what the employment contract says (if there is one). If the disciplinary procedure is contractual you will need to follow this otherwise you will be in breach of contract. In addition check what notice periods contractually you are required to give.

It is important to check the contract in order not to breach this as if you have any restrictive covenants (clauses which prevent someone from working for a competitor or poaching staff) then you breaching the employee's contract e.g. by failing to give the correct notice or follow contractual disciplinary procedures could render them invalid.

In terms of ACAS and best practice yes in theory there should be 'no surprises' and the employee should be invited to a meeting and made aware of their performance issues and given the opportunity to make the improvements. But in practice and given your concerns about your competitor then I would suggest that you call a meeting with the employee and they can simply be told of the decision to dismiss and then either give one week's notice (which is what someone with 6 months' service is entitled to) and be required to work it or terminated there and then and given a suitable payment in lieu of notice (if the contract allows for this see the point above re breach of contract).

I would confirm this in writing and confirm the last day of employment and make sure you pay any holiday pay outstanding.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Sarah