Enforcing a statutory right

It is automatically unfair to dismiss someone for seeking to enforce a relevant statutory right, such as the right to minimum statutory notice (section 104, ERA 96). The employee must act in good faith (Mennell v Newell and Wright [1997] IRLR 519).

In Pearce and Pearce v Dyer [2004] All ER 352, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that dismissing employees for alleging that their employer had made unlawful deductions from their wages was a dismissal for enforcing a statutory right and automatically unfair.