Complying with a legal duty or restriction

It is a fair reason to dismiss an employee if continuing the employment would contravene a legal duty or restriction, in other words, where continued employment would break the law. Typical examples include drivers who lose their licence, or employees who lose the right to work in the UK.

Loss of drivers’ licence

Where a driver is facing dismissal because he cannot legally do his job because of the loss of his licence, the employer should first look for a suitable alternative employment. However, failing to look for other employment will not always make the dismissal unfair (Wincanton Group PLC v Gregory [2012] UKEAT 0011/2/1110). It all depends on the circumstances. In Gregory, the dismissal was unfair because Wincanton misled Mr Gregory into thinking it was looking for other jobs he could do, when this was not true.

Immigration status

Employers have a legal duty to carry out immigration checks to ensure that all their workers have the right to work in the UK. Inability to produce proof of the right to work is likely to be a fair reason for dismissal. For more information see: References and employer checks, page 72.