Can I get fired for no reason?

In a few words, yeah. Obviously, this is subject to change based on a variety of aspects and predicaments.

This is a subject that is posed to us very often, and it comes up most frequently in situations in which an employee has been fired by their employer for no apparent or reasonable reason, or for a cause that does not seem to be significant enough to justify termination (or where a warning may seen more appropriate, or another member of staff who was guilty of the same act was not dismissed).

What does the law have to say about firings that are unfair?

It is necessary to I be an employee and (ii) have at least two years of continuous employment with your company in order to qualify for protection against unjust termination.

A service history of less than two years?

As a result of the absence of any legal protection against being fired in an unjust manner, an employer has the legal right to fire an employee without following any procedure or providing a reason. There is no legal remedy available via the employment tribunal if an employer does not follow a procedure, despite the fact that this may not be the best practice. Especially considering that two years is a relatively long period to work for a firm, this might be irritating for the individuals that are there.

However, businesses need to be cautious since there are a few notable exceptions. In particular, a dismissal may be considered inherently unjust if it does not need 2 years of service, and the cause for the dismissal is anything like pregnancy, family leave, the National Minimum Wage or Working Time Regulations, or whistleblowing (i.e. due to raising health and safety concerns in the public interest).

In addition, employees have various rights beginning on the first day of employment, including the following:

Protection against discrimination that is against the law, such as being treated less favorably because of factors such as age, handicap, or gender reassignment.

The Equality Act of 2010 lists the following categories as "protected characteristics": marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation; and

The ability to file a claim for breach of contract in the event that your contractual notice or holiday pay is not received, for example.

You will see that it is vital to investigate the history and identify the true cause for the termination, since there may be another claim that can be pursued, but these other rights are beyond the scope of this blog.

Have you served for more than two years?

After two years of service, in addition to the rights that were previously enumerated, an employee has the right to not be fired in an unjust manner. This implies that companies are required to adhere to a fair dismissal process, which includes presenting a written justification for the termination of employment. These are the following:

Dismissal for a cause that has a chance of being considered just, such as behavior, capacity, redundancy, illegality, or any other significant reason

(for instance, differences in personality);

Act in a just and reasonable manner under any and all conditions;

Be consistent, which means that you should always apply the same punishment for the same infraction (you shouldn't, for example, give one employee a warning while immediately firing another);

Comply with either their own internal disciplinary policy or the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance processes, whichever one is more stringent (the Code). Despite the fact that following the Code is not a legal requirement, a tribunal has the authority to reduce unfair dismissal compensation awards by up to 25 percent for failure to comply with the Code. For example, if an employer does not offer an employee the right to be accompanied at meetings (which could result in an increased award), or if an employee does not exercise their right to appeal a decision to dismiss them, the tribunal has the authority to reduce the award (may reduce award).

If you have worked for the company for more than two years, you are entitled to a multitude of employment rights; as a result, any dismissal has to be thoroughly investigated to see whether or not you have grounds for a prospective claim to pursue.

Is there a cutoff date for filing a claim with the tribunal for unjust dismissal?

If you want to pursue a claim with the tribunal, you need to move quickly. A claim with the appropriate tribunal for wrongful dismissal must be filed within three months and one day, minus one day, following the day on which employment was terminated (i.e. date of dismissal or last working day after notice). This date will be extended utilizing the required ACAS Early Conciliation; however, ACAS must be informed before the first deadline in order to qualify for the extension.