As an employer, there will be times when you need to terminate your staff\u2019s employment contract through a form of dismissal. However, you must have a valid reason when carrying out any form of dismissal. One such reason is poor conduct. Where this occurs, you may have the option of summary dismissal. However, you must understand the rules concerning summary dismissal to know when to consider it as an option and to ensure you carry out the dismissal correctly. Otherwise, you could face an employment tribunal for unfair or wrongful dismissal. This article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about summary dismissal. It will explain what summary dismissal means and detail some key points you should be aware of regarding summary dismissal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary dismissal is when you dismiss your staff instantly. This means that you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary dismissal usually takes place due to gross misconduct, which is where your employee carries out serious wrongdoing regarding their employment with you. The misconduct breaches the implied duty of mutual conference and trust between you and your employee. Furthermore, it will irrevocably destroy the working relationship beyond repair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gross misconduct may include:<\/p>\n \n
Below is a list of some critical information about summary dismissal or associated with it that you, as an employer, should know. It is not an exhaustive list and is in no particular order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can only summarily dismiss your staff if the employment contract states it is possible. Where it does not state that summary dismissal is possible, you may have the option of suspending your employee but on full pay to investigate the situation, which may then warrant dismissal. If you summarily dismiss your employee and their employment contract does not allow for this, an employment tribunal could find the summary dismissal as \u2018procedurally unfair\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you do decide that summary dismissal is the option to take for your staff member, you must still follow a full and fair procedure when dismissing them, as you have to for all disciplinary situations. This should be your disciplinary and grievance procedure. The procedure should be in line with the Acas procedure, meaning that you must investigate and hold a disciplinary hearing, allowing your employees a chance to defend themselves. Therefore, although, in theory, summary dismissal means instant dismissal, it follows only after carrying out a proper procedure. Failure to do so may lead to an unfair dismissal claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When carrying out a full and fair disciplinary procedure on a staff member and considering summary dismissal, you may find it necessary to suspend them. You should choose this option with caution. Additionally, if you decide to suspend your employee, they must receive full pay unless stated otherwise in their employment contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whilst summary dismissal means that you do not have to give your employees payment in lieu of notice, you must provide them with other pay and benefits. For example, you should make sure that you give them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The law requires you to issue a summary dismissal letter. Your employee’s summary dismissal letter should contain specific points of information. These can help demonstrate that you have a valid reason for dismissal and have followed a fair procedure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The summary dismissal letter must state:<\/p>\n \n