Unfair Dismissals
   
The Unfair Dismissals Acts enable employees who believe they have been unfairly dismissed to present a claim of unfair dismissal to either a Rights Commissioner or to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.       

The Acts apply to employees over age 16 with at least 12 months’ continuous service with the exception of;
   
a) Close relatives of the employer who live and work in the same private house/farm
b) Members of the Defence Forces or Gardaí
c) FAS apprentices who have been dismissed within one month of the end of their apprenticeship
   
The requirement for 12 months’ service does not apply to an employee whose dismissal results from one or more of the following:
   
1) The employee's trade union membership
2) Any matters connected with pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding
3) Exercising or proposing to exercise rights to protective leave or natal care absence
4) Exercising or proposing to exercise rights to parental leave, force majeure leave or carer's leave
5) Exercising or proposing to exercise rights to adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave.

Length of service
Normally you must have at least 12 months’ continuous service with your employer before you can bring a claim for unfair dismissal.

Time limits
You must start your claim for unfair dismissal within 6 months from the date of the dismissal.

You may download the guide ‘Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 to 2021. Explanatory Booklet for Employers and Employees’
   
Click here for the relevant legislation, the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2015.

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