Unfair dismissal - a legal guide for union reps (November 2014)

Chapter 9

9. Remedies

[ch 9: page 79]

If a tribunal finds that an employee has been unfairly dismissed, it will make a declaration to that effect and can make an award. The award can be one of:

• reinstatement, which means that the employee gets their job back and recovers all lost earnings, in all respects as if they had never been dismissed;

• re-engagement, which means that the employee is re-employed, but in a different job which must be comparable to the one they lost and is on terms decided by the tribunal; and/or

• compensation.

Reinstatement and re-engagement orders are very rare and the vast majority of successful claimants are awarded compensation only. In the year to March 2012, only five reinstatements were ordered. It is usually a good idea to ask for reinstatement or re-engagement when launching the claim even though the odds of getting it are very low, especially because it can increase the chances of a successful settlement.


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