Covid coronavirus: Letter from employee dismissed/made redundant due to self-isolating

(Ref L2Bi/L2Bii rev)

How to use the letter template

This letter template is for you to send to your employer if you are being dismissed or made redundant because you wish/ed to self isolate and stay at home because of the covid-19 pandemic. It summarises some of the legal arguments against dismissal/redundancy in the circumstances.

If you have more than two years continuous employment with your employer, you can argue that you have been unfairly dismissed and/or the redundancy situation is unfair.

This is because an employer will be expected to go through a fair process despite the coronavirus crisis. This may include calling for volunteers in the first place and there should then be a process that would include pooling of affected staff and making a fair selection.

However, you do not need the two years’ service to argue that you are being subjected to what’s called ‘automatically unfair dismissal’ which is raised in the letter .

Your options are to ask your employer:

to reinstate you with the same salary or
to reinstate you with a reduced salary (if that’s acceptable to you) or
for financial compensation for unfair dismissal/unfair redundancy in the form of a settlement agreement

Your last resort would be to issue a claim against your employer for unfair dismissal with the employment tribunal.

You should delete or insert the information indicated in the square brackets according to your individual situation. (Remember to delete the instruction and brackets afterwards.)

If you go for the settlement agreement option, you can use Monaco Solicitors’ compensation calculator to calculate how much to ask for as an ex gratia payment. An amount equivalent to between 3 and 6 months salary would usually be considered reasonable, so you need to pitch the amount a bit higher than you actually want, to allow for some negotiation.

If you want to add any other information, keep it brief, to the point and factual, so you’ve got a better chance of your employer agreeing to your request.

You can find more information in our website article about your employment rights during the coronavirus pandemic . For an alternative approach, try our Redundancy letter builder which allows you to tailor the letter contents to your individual situation.

(Ref: L2Bi/L2Bii)

[Your address]

[Recipient name]

[Employer name and address]

[Date]

Dear [Recipient name]

I am writing regarding your recent decision to [select and insert one of the following: dismiss me from employment/ make me redundant] due to my self isolating at home.

To insist on dismissing me in these circumstances, amounts to automatically unfair dismissal under s.100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 re Health & Safety, subsections 1(d) & (e) which state:

(d) in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and which he could not reasonably have been expected to avert, he left (or proposed to leave) or (while the danger persisted) refused to return to his place of work or any dangerous part of his place of work, or

(e) in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent, he took (or proposed to take) appropriate steps to protect himself or other persons from the danger.’]

[Insert the following only if you have more than two years’ continuous service with your employer: ]

[Even under s.98 of ERA 1996, this dismissal would almost certainly be outside of the ‘range of reasonable responses’ open to an employer facing this situation.]

Without prejudice

I am keen to explore whether the matter can be resolved without litigation, so, in the circumstances I would be willing to accept [insert one option from the following:

[reinstatement onto the payroll]
OR
[a negotiated exit package with settlement agreement to include the following terms: Notice pay, Outstanding holiday pay and an Ex gratia amount equivalent to [insert number between 3 and 6] months’ salary ]

I am keen to reach an agreement with you that works for both of us rather than just insist on my rights but we do need to agree it, and it does need to be fair.

Yours sincerely

[Your full name]