In order to successfully bring an unfair dismissal claim in the employment tribunal, your continuous length of service with the employer needs to be two years or more. If an employee has not accrued this length of service then it is very difficult to bring a claim in the employment tribunal.
Exceptional Circumstances
Having said that, there are some exceptions to this rule. These are as follows:
- Being dismissed for raising a health & safety issue in the workplace;
- Dismissals relating to pregnancy, maternity or paternity leave;
- Making a claim for discrimination. Suffering detriment in the work place due to a protected characteristic, be it race, disability, religion, sex etc;
- If an employee is dismissed for being a member of a Trade Union or if they have taken part in lawful industrial action;
- Being dismissed because you are an employee representative;
- Being dismissed for exerting a statutory right – for instance being paid the minimum wages or the right to not having to work over 48 hrs in one week;
- Making a whistleblowing claim;
- Being dismissed for exerting rights to flexible working in the workplace;
Video explainer
Please see our video explainer below which will give more details.
Related topics
Unfair Dismissal
Automatic Unfair Dismissal
Unfair Dismissal Calculator
Wrongful Dismissal
Time Limits for Submitting your claim to the Employment Tribunal