NASUWT Representatives

www.nasuwt.org.uk49The law regards the reasons for dismissal listed below to bepotentially fair, depending on the circumstances. These aredismissal because of:l conduct;l capability/competence;l redundancy;l a statutory restriction;l some other ‘substantial’ reasonA claim for Unfair Dismissal must be brought within threemonths less one day of the dismissal, referred to as the‘effective date of termination’. It is important to note that a claimfor Unfair Dismissal cannot be brought unless the employee hasworked for their employer for at least two years, if employmentcommenced after 6 April 2012 (and one year for employmentstarted prior to this date). This is known as the ‘qualifyingperiod’. Service with a previous ‘associated’ employer can becounted as the qualifying period for some employment rights,e.g. working for different schools under the same LA.Employees on a fixed-term contract who have completed theminimum continuous employment with the same (or anassociated) employer have the same employment rights asemployees with a permanent contract. A fixed-term contractthat is renewed immediately upon termination clearlyestablishes continuity. Even temporary breaks betweentermination and renewal can sometimes be regarded as notbreaking continuity. For example, a teacher employed for someyears on a succession of ‘term-time only’ fixed-term contractsmay still be regarded by the courts as having continuity ofservice. Courts or the ET will judge each case on its merits.However, workers who are dismissed for any of the reasonsbelow may take a complaint to an ET even if they have beenemployed for only one day. There is no qualifying period if thedismissal is because of the following and is therefore deemed tobe automatically unfair:l they are pregnant or on maternity leave and are dismissedfor a reason connected with this;l they are a trade union member and/or play an active part inthe union (e.g. by being a representative);l they have refused to join a trade union;l they have taken legal action against their employer to forcethe employer to give them their entitlements in law (assertinga statutory right);l they have refused to do something because there is aserious and imminent threat to their health and/or safety orbecause they have carried out any functions as a health andsafety representative;For advice and help ˚ Local Association ˚ Regional Centre ˚ National Executive