When people are dismissed from their position, there are certain grounds which would amount to automatic unfair dismissal which could lead to a claim in the employment tribunal. One of these is where the employer has dismissed the employee based on one of their protected characteristics.
A protected characteristic is a personal attribute relating to the particular person’s identity which has been afford protection under the Equality Act 2010. The protected characteristics under the Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. If there has been discrimination relating to any of these then there is merit for an employee to make an action against the discriminatory employer. If the employee is successful in their claim, then there is the possibility of getting compensation for the financial implications of being dismissed and the subsequent offense caused by the discrimination.
If a dismissed employee felt as though they had been discriminated against based on their protected characteristic and this was the cause for their dismissal, they have a set time frame that they can lodge a claim to the tribunal. If the time elapses and the claim has not been made, then the employee runs the risk of losing their right to claim at all. That’s why it’s important to ensure that legal advice is always sought in situations like this.