Case study: Client wins almost £20,000 in Employment Tribunal unfair dismissal claim

Summary

How Chris Hadrill successfully represented an employee on a no win no fee basis in an Employment Tribunal unfair dismissal claim and won just under £20,000 for his client.

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employers must make a fair decision to dismiss employees (using the “range of reasonable responses” test) and must carry out a proper, fair, and thorough process before dismissing an employee.

Situation

Jason was employed by his family business, a medium-size scrap metal company. He had worked for this business for almost ten years and his grandparents ran the company.

In late 2014 Jason was informed by his foreman that one of his grandparents had given instructions that he was being dismissed for gross misconduct. Jason was not given a reason for this decision. He spoke to one of his grandparents and was told that he was being dismissed for ‘insubordination’, as well as for other reasons. Jason appealed against his dismissal and requested reasons for his dismissal, but did not receive a response.

What we did

Redmans represented Jason on a no win no fee basis in his Employment Tribunal claim (under a “Damage-Based Agreement”), with Chris Hadrill acting as the lead solicitor in the claim. Chris advised Jason on all aspects of his claim and represented him in his Employment Tribunal claim in a 1-day hearing, with counsel representing the other side.

The result

As well as making claims for unfair dismissal, Chris also advised Jason that he should make a claim for his employer’s failure to provide written reasons for his dismissal. Jason was successful in both these aspects of his claim.

Chris secured just under £20,000 in compensation for Jason on a ‘no win no fee’ agreement, which meant that if Jason had not win his claims then Redmans would not have been paid a fee.

Call 020 3397 3603 or contact us if you want to talk to Redmans about an Employment Tribunal claim.