Dismissal for enforcing a statutory right

It is automatically unfair to dismiss someone for bringing tribunal proceedings to enforce a relevant statutory right, such as holiday pay or the right to minimum statutory notice (section 104, ERA 96). It does not matter whether the employee actually had the statutory right, or whether it was actually infringed (section 104(2), ERA 96), as long as the employee acted in good faith (Mennell v Newell and Wright [1997] IRLR 519).

In Pearce and Pearce v Dyer [2004] All ER 352, the 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.