Dismissal has rules. Yours may have broken them. Speak to Kestrel.
A dismissal is unfair unless the employer had a fair reason and followed a fair process, and tribunals examine both. The usual qualifying period is two years, but exceptions such as whistleblowing, pregnancy and asserting statutory rights apply from day one. The deadline is three months less one day, and ACAS conciliation comes first. Do not sign anything before advice.
There are five potentially fair reasons: conduct, capability, redundancy, illegality and some other substantial reason. The employer must genuinely hold the reason and act reasonably on it, which includes a fair investigation, a hearing you could answer, and an appeal. Process failures sink otherwise lawful dismissals.
Ordinary unfair dismissal generally needs two years' service, though reform under the Employment Rights Act is set to remove that threshold as its provisions commence; until then the two-year rule usually applies, so check your dates rather than assume. Automatically unfair reasons, including whistleblowing, pregnancy and maternity, health and safety complaints and asserting statutory rights, need no service at all.
Compensation has two parts: a basic award calculated like redundancy pay, and a compensatory award for lost earnings, capped at a figure updated each April, with no cap in discrimination and whistleblowing cases. If you resigned in response to fundamental breaches, constructive dismissal may apply, but resigning is a serious step to take advice on first, not after.
Guide edition: August 2026. General information for England and Wales. Current law and your particular facts require assessment before action.
Dismissal letter, contract, policies, meeting notes and invites, and your own timeline while it is fresh. Forward nothing confidential; keep what is yours.
Use the employer's appeal route within its deadline. It costs nothing, sometimes works, and strengthens a later claim either way.
Start it within three months less one day of dismissal. It is free, mandatory before a claim, and pauses the clock while settlement is explored.
Many cases resolve with a settlement agreement and reference. If not, the ET1 goes in and the tribunal timetable starts.
Tell Kestrel what happened. The AI legal assistant gathers the facts and prepares a summary for you to check. Request lawyer review from your Legal Centre.
Speak to Kestrel nowThree months less one day from the dismissal date to start ACAS conciliation. Miss it and the claim is usually gone; extensions are rare. This is the single most important date in employment law.
This guide concerns Employment. It forms part of our reference library. Kestrel is preparing for SRA authorisation. See practice details for the proposed service and current availability.
For an employee with qualifying service that alone usually makes the dismissal unfair, whatever the reason. The question becomes remedy: what the process would have changed and what you have lost.
Check the exceptions before walking away: whistleblowing, pregnancy, health and safety, asserting statutory rights and discrimination need no qualifying service, and discrimination has no compensation cap. The stated reason is not always the real one.
Not before advice. Constructive dismissal requires a fundamental breach and prompt response, and resigning converts a strong grievance into a case you must prove. Timing and the paper trail decide these cases.
Lost earnings until new work, within the cap for ordinary unfair dismissal, plus the basic award. Honest answer: it depends on how fast you mitigate. A lawyer prices it in the first conversation from your numbers.
Start with the AI legal assistant, then follow the case, messages and lawyer review in your Legal Centre.
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