Wrongful and unfair termination: what is the difference?
For both you and your employer, the firing process has challenges and difficulty with numerous complexities to consider. If it does not get conducted with consideration and diligence, the HR team is likely to face numerous wrongful and unfair termination suits. While these two terms are exchangeable, they both have a distinct meaning. Most people assume that one stands for the other. However, this is not always the case. The statutory rights cover unfair termination, while wrongful termination is a failed contractual agreement with employers.
According to the Employment Rights Act 1996, for you to show that you get unfairly dismissed, you should have worked continuously for the company for two years or more. You also show proof that the two limb test is unmet. The first limb is about why you faced the dismissal. There are five reasons covered here. If the termination is not because of any of these reasons, it gets seen as unfair. The second one is about employer behavior. The court has to determine if the dismissal had the backing of reasonable circumstances having in mind the size of the company and its resources.
Wrongful termination is about denying an employee the correct amount of statutory notice. However, there are nor reasons for you to have a set period of working with the company. They can file the claim as long as there are signs that your dismissal was wrongful. Your claim should get handles over to the employment tribunal in three months or less for it to be valid.
You are likely to file either wrongful termination or unfair dismissal sequentially because there are factors that overlap in both. Such action will have an impact on the value of the awards you will get if you win the case.