Confirmation of dismissal for some other substantial reason

After you’ve had a meeting with the employee to discuss the proposal to dismiss due to “some other substantial reason”, if you do decide to go ahead with the dismissal, use our confirmation of dismissal for some other substantial reason to effect it.

Dismissal in writing

After you have had a meeting with the employee to discuss the proposal to dismiss them and otherwise assuming you have followed a fair procedure, if you do decide to terminate the employee’s employment, you will need to notify them in writing of your decision. The Confirmation of Dismissal for Some Other Substantial Reason letter will ensure you effect the dismissal decision properly.

Notice

Whatever the circumstances, an SOSR dismissal should always be on notice (or pay in lieu of notice - it will have to be pay in lieu of notice in suspected illegal working cases), whichever is the greater of the contractual notice period or the statutory minimum notice period. However, with a fixed-term contract, check whether you’ve provided for it to come to an end automatically on the expiry of the fixed term without the need for notice. Either way, it’s safer to start the dismissal procedure early enough to include the relevant notice period before the fixed term expires.

Injustice to employee

In the case of SOSR, dismissal should always be a last resort action. As the name clearly indicates, the reason for dismissal needs to be substantial, not trivial. A tribunal will also assess the injustice to the dismissed employee in deciding whether an SOSR dismissal is fair or not - they won’t just look at it from your business point of view.

Appeal

An employee has no statutory right to appeal against an SOSR dismissal. However, you should still give the employee an opportunity to appeal as part of an overall fair dismissal procedure.