Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues

Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) is responsible for the legislation which makes a distinction between unfair dismissals on the grounds of incapacity and possible gross misconduct. Utilizing The ERA 1996 the law spells out the rights and duties which are attached to a situation where an unfair dismissal has taken place. Here are the key principles concerning capability and misconduct:

Reasonableness of Dismissal:
The employers should have to justify the reasons which led to the act of dismissal. After the latent reason for the dismissal has been established, in case of the employee’s incapability, the employer must show that the employee’s lack of capacity to perform the job is the primary cause for the termination. Two points to take account of are how the employee’s skills and experience fit the new type of work and whether he is ready to do it in his health condition.
Conducting a Fair Investigation:
In the course of the investigation of inconsistency at the place of employment, a due, reliable and comprehensible study must be conducted. Discussions of dismissals for misconduct must be carried out on the basis of facts and not the simple apprehension of further violations.
Opportunity to Improve:
Employers must have the employee evaluated in order to increase performance instead of just terminating their working relationship. This might be achieved by offering training, support or job adjustments so the employee could be able to clearly accomplish the set during the period of disability or any other factor that affect his capability.
Notice and Redundancy:
For the employee who has worked for less than two years but the misconduct is serious, the dismissal will be treated as automatically unfair. Contrary to popular beliefs, fair dismissal is not termed as constructive unfair dismissal simply because the employee has been on redundancy order for two years or more unless the redundancy was not comprehensively carried out.
Exceptions:
Exceptions to the unfair dismissal rules are when an individual engages in some special activities such as whistleblowing, industrial strike or exercising law rights.
It is universal for employers to take note of these factors to arrive at a fair and justifiable decision about dismissals. Employers should always be consistent when handling capability problems and misconduct by following due legal procedures so as to prevent accusations of unfair dismissal. Moreover, it is important to help employees with the understanding of their entitlements and the legal protections they have in case they feel that the employer has not handled dismissal in a fair manner.