What this tool is for

Losing your job is stressful enough without having to work out whether your employer followed the rules. This checker takes you through the main questions a solicitor or adviser would ask, then gives you a plain English view on whether your dismissal might count as unfair in law and what you could do next.

It looks at the reason you were given, the process your employer followed, how long you had worked there, and whether any of the automatically unfair categories might apply, such as being dismissed for whistleblowing, pregnancy, or asserting a statutory right.

When it might help

Use it if you have been sacked, made redundant in circumstances that feel wrong, pushed out, or forced to resign because of how you were treated. It is aimed at employees in England, Scotland and Wales who want a quick read on their position before deciding whether to raise a grievance, appeal, approach Acas, or speak to a solicitor.

It is also useful if you are still in work but things are deteriorating and you are weighing up whether resigning could amount to constructive dismissal. It will not give you a guaranteed answer, because tribunals look at the full picture, but it will tell you whether the basics point towards a possible claim and flag the three month less one day time limit that applies to most cases.

How it works

You answer a short set of questions about your employment, the reason given for your dismissal, and what happened in the run up to it. The tool then produces a written summary covering the legal tests that apply to your situation, whether you appear to meet the qualifying service requirement, any time limits you need to act on, and practical suggestions for what to do next. Your answers are used only to generate your result and are not saved to your account or shared. If you want to, you can copy the summary and take it with you to an adviser or solicitor.