Ask Employment Law
	Remember: There is no substitute for legal advice on the actual situation you find yourself in. The information posted on this site is for general information only, is based on UK law and should not be relied upon without specific legal advice, which is what I’d strongly recommend. If you can’t find the answer to your question or want to comment on this posting, email: info@reculversolicitors.co.uk or call 0207 324 6271
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Question:	I don’t get on with one of my employees, although he does the job well enough. Can I dismiss him?
Answer:	It’s not unusual for employers to feel lumbered with an employee, who shall we say lacks to requisite interpersonal skills but who on the face of it happens to be perfectly good at their job. During the first year of employment, employees do not have statutory protection from unfair dismissal (unless dismissed for asserting a statutory right, or making a protected disclosure, one or two other exceptions). Therefore, as long as the personality clash is not for unlawfully discriminatory reasons, employers are fairly free to dismiss in the first year of employment. In one reported case, Perkin v St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust 2005, the Director of Finance was disciplined and dismissed for his ‘management style’, his ability to advise in a ‘a positive and supportive manner’ and his ability to form ‘the necessary quality of relationships’. Ordinarily dismissals arise from the employee’s misconduct or capability (performance / sickness absence), but there is also provision to dismiss fairly for ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ as a sort of mopping up clause. An employer might be able to give someone management training, but arguably personality training is a tougher nut to crack. In Perkins the Court of Appeal took the view that, ‘the manifestations of an individual's personality’ could be grounds for a potentially fair dismissal for ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’. However even if the employee has less than one years service, in practice employers would be unwise to start saying ‘We don’t like you, goodbye’. It is always better to dismiss for objectively verifiable reasons. Therefore this type of problem will still have to be handled with extreme care. For example the employee might think that he or she was the subject of unlawful discrimination and sue accordingly. See also our page on awards in unfair dismissal claims Reviewed: July 2010.
James Carmody Employment Solicitor Reculver Solicitors 12-16 Clerkenwell Road London EC1M 5PQ www.reculversolicitors.co.uk info@reculversolicitors.co.uk Tel 0207 324 6271 Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority © Reculver Solicitors. 2005-