The Government has today published its latest amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, in particular its proposed revisions to unfair dismissal protection.
The amendments confirm the proposal to reduce the qualifying period of service an employee needs to bring an unfair dismissal claim from two years to six months. The amendments also propose that the cap on unfair dismissal compensation be removed in its entirety.
Compensation for unfair dismissal currently consist of a basic award (which is calculated using a statutory formula) and a compensatory award which is designed to compensate an employee for their loss of earnings (i.e. the amount of time they were out of work as a result of their dismissal). There is an obligation on the employee to try to mitigate their losses and secure alternative employment. There is also currently a cap on the compensatory award of either 52 weeks’ gross pay or £118,223 (whichever is lower).
The proposed removal of this cap is a radical amendment which may well result in substantially higher awards being made for higher earners who have had long-term career loss. The proposal is due to be debated by the House of Commons on 8 December and we will keep you updated as soon as we know more information.
For more information or to find out how we can help you, please contact our Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.