Wrongful dismissal 



Employees who cannot claim unfair dismissal (for example, because they have insufficient service) may be able to claim wrongful dismissal.



Wrongful dismissal is a claim for breach of contract —namely failure to give the proper contractual notice. Damages are normally limited to the wages the employee would have earned during the notice period, less anything earned during that period (Smith v Trafford Housing Trust [2012] EWCA 3221). The employee has a duty to mitigate their loss (Cerberus Software v Rowley [2001] IRLR 160).


Where a contractual disciplinary, capability or appraisal procedure has not been followed, the employee will usually be entitled to be paid for the amount of time it would have taken to operate the procedure properly, and may sometimes also be entitled to an injunction preventing the employer carrying out a dismissal without following the procedure. 



A wrongful dismissal claim can be brought in either the civil courts or the employment tribunal. There is no financial cap on claims in the civil courts, but in the employment tribunal, compensation for breach of contract claims (including wrongful dismissal) is capped at £25,000.