Unfair Dismissal Outcomes: Your First Steps

This article is the first in a step-by-step guidance series on dealing with unfair dismissal outcomes. If you have received an outcome letter confirming dismissal, the principles set out here will help you understand the immediate steps you need to take, including checking your right of appeal, calculating deadlines, and making sure you obtain the documents necessary for drafting a proper appeal. Later articles in the series will build on this foundation, taking you through each stage of the process in detail. Full attention is given here to the appeal process, as this is your essential first step.

Unfair Dismissal Outcome - Why Raising an Appeal Matters

Raising an appeal is not only something the Employment Tribunal will expect — it is also your best opportunity to gather further evidence and strengthen your potential claim. Even if you have no desire to return to the employer because of a breakdown of trust, you should not waive this step.

Handled correctly, the appeal process often shifts the balance of power: it forces the employer to disclose more of its reasoning, creates additional records, and may expose inconsistencies that later support your unfair dismissal case.

📌 Practical tip: Think of the appeal as both a procedural requirement and a strategic opportunity. It is your chance to test the employer’s reasoning and build a stronger case.

Checking Your Right of Appeal

The first and most urgent step is to check whether your dismissal outcome letter clearly sets out a right of appeal and the deadline for using it. Missing this deadline can close off your ability to challenge the decision, so it is vital to act quickly.

If your letter does not mention an appeal right, this is significant. In practice, the omission usually means your employer has breached the ACAS Code of Practice, which requires a fair opportunity to appeal. It may also conflict with the employer’s own disciplinary or capability procedure.

You should also check your contract of employment and the relevant policies. Look for standard wording either in:

• the contract clause referring to a specific policy, or

• the heading of the policy itself.

If you see wording like “the provisions of this policy do not form part of your terms of employment”, then the policy is detached from your contract. But if you cannot find such wording, it is generally safe to assume the policy is part of your contract — meaning that a failure to offer you a right of appeal may amount to a breach of contract.

That said, do not get carried away. Such a breach does not automatically make the dismissal unfair. What it does do is place your employer in a weaker position: tribunals may draw adverse inferences about fairness and consistency if an employer cannot follow its own procedures.

📌 Practical tip: If your outcome letter says nothing about appeal rights, treat this as a red flag. Note it carefully, but don’t assume tribunal is the immediate answer—seek advice first.

Deadlines and Policies

If your dismissal outcome letter does provide a right of appeal, pay close attention to the deadline. Appeals are often allowed within 5–10 days, but the crucial point is whether that period runs from the date on the letter or the date you received it. That difference can decide whether your appeal is valid.

You should also check the relevant policy used in your case. It should confirm the time limit for appeals, and this should match what appears in your letter. If there is inconsistency, and the policy forms part of your contractual terms, this may create another potential breach of contract issue.

📌 Practical tip: Always check whether the appeal timeframe in your letter matches the one in your employer’s policy. Inconsistencies may later strengthen your case.

Gathering Documents Before You Appeal

Before preparing an appeal, make sure you have been provided with all relevant documents. This usually includes:

• The employer’s disciplinary or capability policies

• Minutes of meetings

• Investigation records

• Invitation letters

• Any other material used in reaching the dismissal decision

If these documents have not been provided, it is best to submit a provisional appeal letter. This protects your appeal within the deadline while reserving your position until the missing material is disclosed.

In a provisional appeal letter you should:

• Confirm that you are exercising your right of appeal within the time limit

• Explain that you have not been provided with all the relevant documents

• State that you reserve the right to amend your appeal once those documents are received

  
  

You do not need to set out full grounds of appeal at this stage. Doing so without access to the full evidence may weaken your position and give your employer arguments to rely on later.

📌 Practical tip: Use a provisional appeal if key documents are missing. This protects your position and prevents you from committing to grounds before you have the full picture.

Breach of Contract and Tribunal Claims

If you have not been given a right of appeal, or if your employer has not followed its own disciplinary procedure, this may amount to a breach of contract. However, it is important to understand the limits of what this means in practice.

A breach of contract claim on its own cannot usually be brought to the Employment Tribunal. Even where dismissal has occurred, breach of contract does not by itself establish unfair dismissal. To succeed in a tribunal claim, you must focus on the reasonableness of the dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

That said, procedural breaches can strengthen an unfair dismissal case, and you may also have additional claims — for example, discrimination, whistleblowing detriment, or other statutory protections — depending on the circumstances.

📌 Practical tip: A breach of contract may support your case but will not, by itself, establish unfair dismissal. Focus on how the employer’s decision was unreasonable and whether other statutory rights may apply.

Moving to Step Two: Analysing the Dismissal Outcome

Having secured your position by checking appeal rights, deadlines, and essential documents, the next stage is to examine the substance of the dismissal itself. Step two of this series will guide you through analysing the disciplinary conduct that led to your outcome — assessing the allegations, the evidence relied upon, and whether the process was carried out fairly and consistently.