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(To) undermine - to make something, especially someone's confidence or authority, gradually weaker or less effective.
Actual dismissal - when the employer has ended the employment contract according to the contract's notice terms.
Affirm - to state clearly or publicly that something is true or that you support something strongly
Breach of contract - when somebody acts in a way that breaks the conditions of their contract
Common law claim - a claim relying on previous court decisions not legislation.
Constructive dismissal - constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge or constructive termination, occurs when an employee resigns as a result of the employer creating a hostile work environment.
Customs - the traditions within a culture.
Employment Rights Act (1996) - An Act to consolidate enactments relating to employment rights. This Act covers areas such as unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, protection of wages, zero hour contracts, Sunday working, suspension from work, flexible working and termination of employment.
Employment tribunal - an employment tribunal deals with claims brought against employers by employees. Claims can typically relate to unfair and wrongful dismissals, discrimination, equal pay, and deductions from wage deductions.
Express terms - a condition of a contract that is agreed by you and an employee, verbally or in writing.
Fixed term contract - a contract that has a defined end date that has been set out from the start of the contract.
Fundamental - important and central to everything.
Implied terms - terms of the contract that have not been explicitly agreed between you and your employer, but are included without needing to be explicitly expressed.
Legislation - law or a set of laws passed by a government body (also known as statues).
Minimum notice periods - Whatever your contract says, your employer must give you at least the statutory minimum period of notice, which depends on how long you've worked for them:
- one week if you've been continuously employed for between one month and two years
- one week for each complete year (up to a maximum of 12) if you've been continuously employed for two or more years
Misconduct - unacceptable or improper behaviour, especially by an employee or professional person.
Net pay - the amount you're left with after income tax, National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and any other deductions have been taken out.
Notice package - as part of your employment package you may have benefits such as extended notice pay - in other words, your employer may have agreed to pay you for three months as part of this package.
Summary dismissal - when the employer has ended the employment contract without giving notice.
Terminate - to make something end.
Wrongful/unfair dismissal - making someone redundant for reasons which are illegal or unjust.
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Administrative resources - the capabilities a company has to manage their business.
Alleged - said, without proof, to have taken place.
Capability - an employee's ability to do their job - often down to serious injury or illness.
Claimant - a person making a claim.
Code of practice - a set of written rules which explains how people working in a particular profession should behave.
Conduct - acceptable/unacceptable behaviours of individuals in an organisation - stealing or fighting in the workplace.
Continuous service - working for the same employer without a break.
Contract of service - a formal agreement between employer and employee.
Corporation - a large company or group of companies acting as one.
Criteria - a standard on which a judgement or decision may be based.
Damages - a sum of money claimed or awarded in compensation for a loss or an injury.
Disciplinary process - a set way for an employer to deal with a worker who causes problems or does not obey company rules.
Eligibility - to be eligible for something.
Eligible - having the right to do or obtain something.
Excluded class - professions such as the army or police, because they have their own legal systems in place.
HR department - the HR (Human Resources) department is a group who is responsible for managing the employee life cycle (i.e., recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and firing employees) and administering employee benefits.
Illegality - something that is against the law - losing your driving licence when you are a driver, for example.
Legislation - another word for laws.
Litigation - the process of taking legal action.
Redundancy - having lost your job because your work is no longer needed or the company wants to downscale financially.
Statutory claim - a claim relating to unfair dismissal.
The case of Iceland Frozen Foods v Jones (1983) - an Employment Law case concerning Unfair Dismissal.
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Allegations - accusing somebody of doing something that is wrong or illegal without any proof.
Apportioning - the act of dividing something among people.
Criminal investigation - an official examination of the facts about a crime.
Dignity - the feeling of being respected or honoured.
Disciplinary hearing - a meeting between you and an employee, held when you wish to discuss an allegation of gross misconduct with an employee
Disciplinary meeting - a formal meeting to decide how to deal with a worker who has not obeyed company rules or has caused serious problems.
Discrimination - the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, sex, or disability.
Equality Act (2010) - legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
Financial compensation - the act of providing a person with money or other things of economic value in exchange for their goods, labor, or to provide for the costs of injuries that they have incurred.
Harassment - behaviour which is intended to trouble or annoy someone, like intimidating or threatening them.
Protected characteristic - means you have a right not to be treated less favourably, or subjected to an unfair disadvantage, by reason of that characteristic, for example, because of your age, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
Right to appeal - The court determining an appeal will correct errors by the trial judge and the right of appeal ensures that, as far as possible, courts arrive at correct decisions.
Sexual orientation - the romantic or sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender.
The basic award - the calculation of a fixed sum of compensation for an employee who has been unfairly dismissed, considering your age, how many years you've worked for that employer, and your weekly pay.
The compensatory award - extra compensation for an unfairly dismissed employee for all other losses - for example benefits like their pension.
Unlawful - conduct that is illegal or not authorised by law.
Victimisation - the action of singling someone out for cruel or unjust treatment.
Violate - to break or fail to comply with (a rule or formal agreement).
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Administrative staff - those who provide support to a company. This support might include general office management, answering phones, speaking with clients, assisting an employer, clerical work (including maintaining records and entering data), or a variety of other tasks.
Clerical staff - people employed in an office setting.
Client facing - dealing directly with clients or customers.
Drafting - legal writing generally involves communication between parties, such as writing a letter to a client, whereas legal drafting consists of drafting a legal document with a more specific structure and purpose.
Elicit - to draw out or get information from somebody.
Headquarters - the managerial and administrative centre of an organisation
Lawmaker - someone such as a politician who is responsible for proposing and passing new laws.
Multiple claims - more than one claim.
Orally - spoken (rather than written).
Paralegal - a person with legal training whose job is to help lawyers with their work. They are not yet a qualified lawyer themselves.
Scenario - a situation that could possibly happen.
Summarily dismissed - to be dismissed instantly, without notice.
Termination - to instantly stop something.
