Dismissing employees: 19 FAQs

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1. What do we need to worry about, if we handle a dismissal badly and get things wrong?
2. What is the best way of ensuring that a disgruntled employee cannot bring a claim for unfair dismissal?
3. What should we include in our disciplinary procedure, and will this change as a result of the proposed changes to procedures for dispute resolution?
4. Do we have to go through the whole of our disciplinary procedure every time?
5. Can we sack someone for persistent poor time-keeping?
6. Can we sack someone who is just useless at their job?
7. Can we sack someone who has lied about their qualifications or experience?
8. Would a refusal to wear appropriate clothing be an adequate reason for dismissal?
9. We moved someone to an alternative job, because their performance was unsatisfactory. Now they are threatening to sue us for constructive dismissal. What does this mean, and do they have a case?
10. What are the penalties likely to be, if someone succeeds in a claim for constructive dismissal?
11. We have an employee who has been off sick for almost six months, and shows no sign of recovering. Can we dismiss them?
12. One of our employees recently came up in court, and was sent to prison. Surely we can dismiss them?
13. We have a new employee who is demanding expensive modifications to some machinery on safety grounds. Can we just tell them to pack up and go?
14. In which cases is length of service immaterial?
15. What do we do about an employee who is on their final warning, and whose conduct merits dismissal, but who is claiming to be pregnant?
16. What can we do if people who have been dismissed refuse to work out their notice?
17. If we tell people who have been dismissed to leave immediately, do we always have to give them pay in lieu of notice?
18. How long can a disgruntled ex-employee wait before filing a claim?
19. What do we do about requests for references, if we have sacked someone for incompetence or disciplinary offences?

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