All an Employer Needs to Know About Summary Dismissal in England

As an employer, there will be times when you need to terminate your staff’s 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.

What is Summary Dismissal?

Summary dismissal is when you dismiss your staff instantly. This means that you:

• require them to leave immediately;
• do not give them notice of termination of their employment; and
• do not give them payment in lieu of notice.

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.

Key Points an Employer Needs to Know About Summary Dismissal

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.

1. Check the Employment Contract

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 ‘procedurally unfair’. 

2. Follow a Fair Procedure

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.

3. Considering Suspension?

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.

4. Pay and Benefits Due

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:

• pay for any holiday not yet used;
• pay for any work carried out that they have not received yet; and
• expenses they may be owed.

5. Get the Summary Dismissal Letter Right

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.

Key Takeaways

Dismissing an employee has severe consequences for your staff as they no longer have a job with you. Therefore, the law requires a valid reason for dismissal and for you to follow a full and fair procedure towards dismissal, such as your disciplinary and grievance procedure. This applies to summary dismissal too. This means, for example, that you must investigate and hold a meeting. You may want to consider suspension of your employees during the investigation period, but they should have full pay during this period. When carrying out a summary dismissal, you must provide your employee with a summary dismissal letter containing specific information, such as the reason for dismissal that you are carrying out summary dismissal and what this means. 

If you need help understanding summary dismissal in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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