10. Dismissal

To bring a claim for unfair dismissal you must:

• be an employee (see Chapter 2);

• have been dismissed (see below);

• have (in most cases) at least two years’ continuous employment (one year in Northern Ireland) by the “effective date of termination”. This phrase has a precise meaning, explained on page 394.

• For some types of unfair dismissal claims, no service is needed. No service is needed for a claim of:

◊ automatically unfair dismissal (except for dismissals due to a business transfer or a spent conviction). Automatically unfair dismissal is explained on page 387;

◊ dismissal related to political belief (see page 385); and

◊ discriminatory dismissal (see Chapter 7: Discrimination).

The first step in all claims (except a claim for interim relief — see page 400) is to submit a completed Acas Early Conciliation (EC) Notification Form to Acas. This mandatory step must be taken within three months (less one day) of the dismissal date. For information on bringing an employment tribunal (ET) claim, including how to calculate the three-month period and complete an Acas EC, see Chapter 14.

There is no upper or lower age limit on the right to claim unfair dismissal.