Awards for Failure to Follow Statutory Dismissal
22nd August 2007
Almost three years after the legislation came into effect, there is still no decisive guidance on when awards for employers failing to comply with the statutory dismissal procedures should be increased by 10%, 50%, or somewhere in between.
The EAT recently refused to lay down general guidelines, but commented that it was appropriate for a tribunal to take into account the employer's ignorance of the statutory dismissal procedures when deciding to impose the minimum uplift of 10% (Cex Ltd v Lewis).
This lack of guidelines is leading to inconsistent results and uncertainty for employers, with some tribunals awarding a 50% uplift precisely because of the employer's ignorance of the law (with the rationale: 'if they can't be bothered to learn how to act fairly...').
If the statutory dismissal procedures are abolished, as the government intends, this may be a (relatively) short-term problem for employers, but is unsatisfactory meantime.
For more information please contact:
Glasgow: Paul Brown or Michael McLaughlin
Edinburgh: Alan Strain
The information contained in this article is given for general information only and does not constitute legal advice on any specific matter.