I have an employee who has been with me for two months however I no longer need them in my workforce. Am I able to just dismiss this employee?
Dismissing an employee is never a step you should take quickly and without proper consideration. This employee is someone who you thought it was worth hiring only two months ago and, presumably, at that time you were envisaging a long term relationship. What has changed to make you believe that you no longer have a need for this employee?
If there has been a change in the amount of work you need then you should consider if this is likely to be a permanent drop or if you are going to find yourself understaffed again very shortly. If this is due to the individual’s performance in the role then you should consider if this is something that could be corrected so that you can retain an employee who you thought was worth having.
There are set procedures contained within the ACAS code of practice that set out the process you should go through if you want to dismiss someone and it is always advisable to follow them so that you can make sure that dismissal is the correct decision in the circumstances.
You are able to dismiss an employee without following any procedures, providing you give them the correct notice. If they have less than 1 year of service then they cannot bring a claim for unfair dismissal unless they can find some way to argue that this dismissal was for an automatically unfair reason. Be aware that should this employee seek to claim that the dismissal was for an inadmissible reason then you will find it hard to demonstrate the real reason for dismissal if you have no record of your reasoning.
If you have a valid reason for dismissing this employee then it is worth writing to them clearly setting out the reasons for the dismissal and giving the right of appeal. This will give you a record and help you deal with any challenges should they bring them.
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