Friday May 9, 06:20 PM
Do I have a claim?
Unimpressed by your redundancy offer? You could consider pursuing an unfair dismissal claim, but it may not be worth your while. Unfair dismissal compensation is capped at £63,000, plus whatever you're owed in statutory redundancy pay
(see main article). If you can prove discrimination, though, compensation can be limitless.Your best chance of a successful unfair dismissal case may be where the company has failed to follow strict procedures. Matthew Leake, solicitor at Kennedys, says there's a series of hoops the employer must jump through and failure to comply makes the dismissal automatically unfair. Further, employers should consult properly about the redundancy, consider suitable alternative employment within the firm and apply fair selection criteria. If you can show any aspect of your dismissal was discriminatory, then you could have an uncapped claim. A complaint over race, disability, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, or being penalised as a whistleblower can put you in this category. However, even where there's a watertight discrimination case, the employment tribunal takesa dim view if you don't make an effort to get another job. But many redundancy packages are pitched close enough to the maximum £63,000 to make an unfair dismissal action pointless. So you may be better off using wrongs as bargaining points, to bump up your package through negotiation.
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