What is wrongful dismissal? 

Wrongful dismissal is a legal claim that arises when an employer terminates an employee’s contract of employment in breach of the terms of that contract. In practice, most wrongful dismissal cases are about notice periods. Your contract (and the law) sets out how much notice your employer must give you if they want to end your employment. If your employer doesn’t give you the required notice (or pay instead of letting you work that notice), that could give rise to a wrongful dismissal claim.

Common situations that lead to wrongful dismissal claims

• No notice or pay: Your employer dismisses you on the spot without any notice and doesn’t pay you for the notice period. 

• Not enough notice: Your employer gives you some notice, but less than what your contract (or the legal minimum) says you should get.

• Contract breach in dismissal: Your employer didn’t follow other contract terms when terminating your employment (for example, not following a contractual disciplinary procedure in a way that breaches contract, though these cases are less common than notice issues). 

Wrongful dismissal is about the contract terms. This claim doesn’t cover if the reason for sacking you was fair or unfair (this would be a separate claim for unfair dismissal), what matters is  – did your employer breach the contract when dismissing you? If they did, you may be able to claim for the losses caused by that breach in a wrongful dismissal claim (usually your wages for the notice period you missed out on). 

Who can bring a claim for wrongful dismissal? 

A wrongful dismissal claim is only available to employees after their employment has ended.  There is no minimum length of service that you must have to bring the claim.   

Wrongful dismissal vs unfair dismissal (what’s the difference?) 

Wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal are different legal claims. 

• Wrongful dismissal is a contract claim. It focuses on whether the employer breached the employment contract. 

• Unfair dismissal is a statutory claim about fairness. It looks at whether the employer had a legally fair reason for dismissal (there are 5 legally fair reasons to dismiss) and followed a fair process. Find out more information about unfair dismissal.  

A dismissal can be wrongful, unfair, or both. For example, if an employee with over two years’ service is dismissed without notice and without a fair reason or process, they may claim both wrongful dismissal (for unpaid notice) and unfair dismissal. If an employee lacks the service needed for unfair dismissal, they may still have a wrongful dismissal claim for notice pay. 

When can your employer dismiss you without notice? 

Generally, if you’re an employee, you have the right to a minimum notice period when being dismissed.

However, an employers may dismiss without notice (this is called summary dismissal) in certain circumstances. It can do so, for example, in cases of gross misconduct, which means very serious wrongdoing, such as theft, violence, serious harassment, or a serious breach of company policy. If you commit gross misconduct, the law treats it as you breached the contract, which may entitle your employer to terminate your employment immediately without any notice pay. 

Even in cases of gross misconduct, you are always entitled to be paid for any work you have already done and any holidays you’ve accrued up to that point.  

What can you claim for? 

If you win a wrongful dismissal claim, the aim is to put you in the position you’d have been in had your employer not breached your employment contract. In practical terms, damages for wrongful dismissal are usually: 

• Wages for the notice period you lost. For example, if your contract says you should get 4 weeks’ notice (or if the law says so based on your length of service, you are entitled to 4 weeks’ notice) and you were dismissed without notice, you can claim the equivalent of 4 weeks’ pay. If you got some notice but not the full period, you claim the pay for the remaining period you should have had. 

• Benefits during the notice period, if applicable. If your contract entitled you to things like pension contributions, private healthcare, or other benefits during the notice period, the value of those can be claimed too.  

What can’t you usually claim for?  

Damages for wrongful dismissal don’t include things like emotional distress, hurt feelings, or punitive damages. It’s not like a discrimination claim where you can get compensation for injury to feelings or unfair dismissal claim where you can claim a broader loss of earnings. It’s purely about financial loss arising from the breach of contract. So, if the only loss you suffered was not getting paid for the notice period, that’s what the damages will cover. 

What can you do next? 

If you think you’ve been wrongfully dismissed, here are some practical steps you can take: 

1. Check your contract and service length: Review your employment contract or staff handbook to confirm your notice entitlement. If you have over one month’s service, you are entitled to statutory minimum notice (1 week after 1 month, 2 weeks after 2 years, then an extra week per year of service up to 12 weeks maximum). Your employment contract/handbook can provide you with more notice than the statutory minimum but it cannot be less than the statutory minimum.  Note how much notice you were given and compare it to what you were entitled to. 

2. Ask for written reasons: If you haven’t been given written reasons for your dismissal, especially if it’s being labelled as gross misconduct, ask your employer for them. This helps clarify whether the employer is relying on gross misconduct to justify no notice. 

3. Appeal the dismissal (if available): Use any internal appeal process. Explain why you believe you were entitled to notice or why summary dismissal was unjustified. Even if reinstatement is unlikely, an appeal may lead to payment of notice pay. Be aware that appealing does not extend tribunal deadlines.  See more information on time limits for bringing tribunal claims. 

4. Calculate your loss: Work out the pay and benefits you lost due to lack of notice (e.g. four weeks’ net pay if that was your notice period). Any earnings from a new job during the notice period may reduce your claim, as damages are intended to compensate you for the loss actually caused, not to punish your employer. 

5. Get advice and consider your options: If the issue isn’t resolved, you may wish to bring a claim against your employer.  

How do I bring a claim against my employer? 

This depends on the value of your claim as to whether you can bring your claim in the Employment Tribunal, County Court or High Court.   

Employment tribunal

If the value of your wrongful dismissal claim is £25,000 or less then it is usually best to bring that claim in the Employment Tribunal where there are currently no fees to make a claim and the process is much simpler. You can represent yourself at a tribunal. 

You will need to act quickly if you are bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal.  The time limit is currently 3 months less one day from the date your employment ended to bring a claim.  These time limits will increase to 6 months some time around October 2026, when new laws come into effect.  Find out more information on time limits. 

Before you can submit an Employment Tribunal claim, you’ll need to engage in Early Conciliation through ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service). Early Conciliation is a process where ACAS tries to help you and your employer reach a settlement. It’s free and it’s required in almost all cases before you can formally lodge a tribunal claim. Starting Early Conciliation pauses the tribunal deadline clock for up to a month (and possibly a 2-week extension), but don’t delay, you should contact ACAS as soon as you think you might need to claim.  Find out more detail on Early Conciliation. 

Civil Courts 

If the value of your wrongful dismissal claim is more than £25,000 then you will not be able to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal and it will instead need to be brought in the civil courts.   

Working Families do not advise on civil claims but you can find out more details on claims in the civil courts.

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

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