Settlement offer after surprise termination

[Memo88]

Hi, we will be appointing an employment solicitor, but any advice would be so welcome.

Out of the blue, my husband was told yesterday that his employment was being terminated. We live in the uk and he is employed by a uk company, but the main business is based in Canada.

He has worked there for nearly 3 years, has never been told his performance is a problem and received a small pay rise in January.

The company have said the termination is due to performance but given no examples nor followed any procedures to address this.

They have offered him his 6 weeks notice pay plus 10 weeks settlement. If it’s relevant his salary is around £85k plus 15% bonus.

Does this seem reasonable? Does anyone have any experience they can share? Thanks in advance.

It can be surprisingly difficult for non UK/EU bosses to understand the impact of breaking employment law over here. In large companies there are often checks and balances which remove most of the issues but it is a completely different mindset and they can struggle to take it seriously.

Its a pity that we dont have some sort of 'Employment Inspectorate' like most European nations - including Ireland.

That I suggest might include forcing employers to improve their practices

You have 3 months minus one day from date of dismissal to submit a claim to ET. Make sure you do not miss it! Personally, I would do it straight away, as it puts pressure on them to settle.

It wouldn't surprise me if the employer says he is still employed. The fact his login no longer works is not proof they have terminated him immediately, nor is removal of equipment such as laptop, mobile phone, etc. As long as they continue paying him, they have not created any cause for action.