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Unfair Dismissal Solicitors Glasgow

Without question, the most common employment law situation we see relates to unfair dismissal. Usually, people have been unfairly dismissed or fear they are about to be unfairly dismissed.

Making an Unfair Dismissal claim.

The most common reasons given by employers for the dismissal of employees are the following :

• Misconduct
• Capability – this relates to the employees capability to do the job, perhaps because the employee is viewed as simply not good enough or because they have been off sick
• Redundancy

While these can be valid reasons for the dismissal of an employee, employers tend to fall foul of employment legislation by being too hasty in taking the decision to dismiss their employees and often do not follow a correct procedure.

In cases of misconduct, this could take the form of not having fair disciplinary proceedings;

In cases of capability, this could take the form of not giving the employee warnings and an opportunity to improve their performance; or in respect of ill health of not obtaining a medical report before dismissal;

In cases of redundancy, this could take the form of not consulting with the employee and not using a fair selection method when choosing which employees to dismiss.

We are experts at assessing whether or not there are grounds to make a complaint of Unfair Dismissal to an Employment Tribunal and can either help clients to do this themselves or, more commonly, represent clients throughout the entire procedure.

Dismissal Procedure & Unfair Dismissal

While it is essential that your employer follows a proper procedure, what amounts to a proper procedure will clearly vary from situation to situation.

It is essential that employers take legal advice on proper dismissal procedures.

Employers should follow the ACAS code which stipulates that employers follow a fair and reasonable procedure when disciplining or dismissing employees. For instance, if the issue which led to dismissal relates to competency, the employer should give the employee adequate feedback and an opportunity to improve their performance.

If the dismissal is on the grounds of behaviour the employer should follow a fair disciplinary procedure. This will involve issuing fair warning to the employee regarding their conduct as well as ongoing warnings should the employee’s behaviour fail to improve, culminating in a final written warning and a disciplinary hearing.

Employment Tribunal Claims for Unfair Dismissal

Claims must be brought before the employment tribunal. In Glasgow, this is based in the Eagle building at 215 Bothwell Street.

The employment tribunal will assess the dismissal process, assess the reasons for your dismissal and come to a conclusion as to whether or not these reasons were sufficient to warrant dismissal.

When can I claim Unfair Dismissal?

The rules depend on when your employment began. Normally, employees will require 2 years’ continuous service in order to lodge an unfair dismissal claim. However there are some circumstances which will warrant a claim for unfair dismissal even although the employee does not have two years continuous service. These include:

• Dismissal for ‘whistleblowing’
• Dismissal for pregnancy or a reason related to parental leave.
• Dismissal for asserting a statutory right (for example the right to maternity leave or the right not to suffer an unlawful deduction of wages).     
• Unfair dismissal claim time limits
• Claims for unfair dismissal must be raised within three months of the date the employment ended. As such, it’s important to get in touch with us right away.

Unfair Dismissal Claims Glasgow

If you think you have been unfairly dismissed, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Discrimination at Work

We are able to advise on all forms of discrimination at work.

Discrimination Claims Lawyers Glasgow

The law protects us from being the victims of certain types of discrimination at work, Claims of discrimination must be made within 3 months of the date of the discriminatory act.

It is illegal to discriminate against an employee on the following grounds:

• Disability
• Pregnancy and Maternity
• Age
• Race and / or Nationality
• Religion or Philosophical Belief
• Sex
• Marriage and Civil Partnership
• Sexual Orientation
• Gender Reassignment

While we deal with every type of discrimination described above, we most commonly deal with three types of discrimination:

• Disability Discrimination
• Sexual/Pregnancy Discrimination
• Race or Nationality

Disability Discrimination

Disability Discrimination is a highly complex area of law and we have developed extensive experience in handling claims for clients in this area with great success.

Clients often approach us following their dismissal and tell us that they have been dismissed for being absent from work due to ill health. Quite often their absences will be connected to a long term condition and their dismissal could very well have been a case of  disability discrimination– often people do not realise that they are disabled (at least in the legal sense) when in fact they are.

You are regarded as ‘disabled’ for the purposes of UK employment law if you have a physical or mental impairment which has both a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out day to day activities.

In addition, the following conditions are specifically protected by disability discrimination legislation: Cancer, HIV, Multiple Sclerosis, “Severe Disfigurement” and Blindness.

Disabled people are entitled to have their employer make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to assist them in carrying out their employment duties. Obviously, what is reasonable depends on the size and nature of the business.

Disabled people are entitled to the same benefits as their fellow employees in respect of:

• Pay
• Promotion
• Training
• Other benefits

Disability should not be a reason for dismissal or selection for redundancy. If the discrimination you have suffered resulted in dismissal, you may be able to make a claim for unfair dismissal as well as disability discrimination.

Sex/Pregnancy Discrimination

Sometimes employers dismiss their female employee shortly after discovering that the employee is pregnant. We would strongly encourage women to contact us if they think that their dismissal, or any other detriment they have suffered at work, is connected with their pregnancy.

When you become pregnant, you are entitled to:

• Time off work to attend antenatal classes
• Maternity Leave
• Payment of Maternity benefits
• Protection against discrimination or unfair treatment as a result of your pregnancy or other protected characteristic.

If you are denied these basic rights or you are dismissed, disciplined, suspended, , demoted, unlawfully paid a reduced wage, forced to resign, denied training and development opportunities, selected for redundancy or denied any other right which is protected by law you will be able to raise a claim for discrimination against your employer.

You do not have had to have worked for your employer for any length of time to make such a claim, but you must bring your claim within three months of the most recent discriminatory act.

At Alexander McBurney Solicitors, we have an excellent track record of representing our clients in employment tribunal discrimination claims.

Discrimination Lawyers Scotland

If you think you have been discriminated against at work, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.