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I run a electrical business and have had a heated dispute with my main employee,my emplee's have no contracts. I am expecting him to hand his notice in this weekend as it was mentioned in our argument, if he does can i ask him to leave now and what would i have to pay him and for how long? If i were to dismiss him from employment do i have to still give warnings or with him having no contract can i dismiss him with no comeback for unfair dismissal?
Optional Information: Province/Country relating to question: great britain
Hello and thank you for your question, which I will be happy to assist you with. Please let me know how long has he worked there for?
almost 6 years
If he was to hand in his notice then it would depend on whether he is willing to work through his notice period or leave immediately. If he wants to work his notice then you can ask him whether he is willing to accept payment in lieu of notice, in which case you have to pay him 1 weeks' notice, pay up to date and any outstanding holidays.
If he is not willing to work his notice period then you only have to pay his wages to date and any outstanding holidays.
If you were to dismiss him then unfortunately you have to show there was a fair reason for dismissal and also follow a fair procedure. Unless he was guilty of gross misconduct you cannot simply dismiss him, irrespective of whether there was a contract in place or not. His protection against unfair dismissal comes from his length of service (over a year), not from his contract.
Thank you, so just to clarify, if he comes in on monday with his notice, If he wants to work his notice, who decides how long this notice is? is there a set notice time?
he must give you at least a week's notice, but he may give you longer
so can i decide the length of his notice as long as it is at least 1 week?
if he is prepared to work the notice then he decides how long it is
So what can i do because if he hands his notice in i don't want him working for the business as i know he will collect contacts and take business from me. The dispute was over me asking him to drop one of the lads off home, 15 mins out of his way, he refused blank saying he is not paid to drive around, my argument was he works for me and it does not matter what i ask him to do he is still getting paid and i offered him to finish work earlier so he did not work late but i would still pay him full hours, he still refused this even though i provide him with the van and fuel i asked him to do this with which lead to it becoming heated.
I would not say that this is something that would warrant you dismissing him so you have to rely on him resigning. You could try placing him on garden leave or simply pay him in lieu of notice but there is no guarantee he won't try and challenge that. I would hope that would not be the case
thank you
Experience: Expert in UK Employment Law