Termination documents and HR templates library

UK employment law and best practice

Ending employment is one of the areas of HR where the reason for the decision and the process followed can have significant legal consequences. HRDocBox's termination resources are designed around relevant UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance and practical HR best practice, with different documents available for different termination scenarios. The current HRDocBox Full Library specifically identifies termination resources covering dismissal, resignation, redundancy and TUPE. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Fair dismissal and reasonable procedure

The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides the principal statutory framework for unfair dismissal, subject to the applicable eligibility and qualifying-period rules. Where a dismissal could be challenged, the employer needs to consider both the potentially fair reason and whether a fair procedure has been followed.

The ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures is particularly relevant to misconduct and some performance-related dismissals. Employers should investigate appropriately, tell the employee what the concerns are, give them a reasonable opportunity to respond and provide an appeal where appropriate.

Different reasons require different processes

A termination should not be treated as a single generic HR process. Misconduct, capability, redundancy, long-term ill health, some other substantial reason and expiry of a fixed-term contract can involve materially different considerations.

For example, a capability dismissal should normally follow appropriate performance management and consideration of whether further support or a reasonable adjustment is appropriate. A redundancy dismissal requires a genuine redundancy situation and appropriate consultation and selection where relevant.

Equality and discrimination

The Equality Act 2010 protects employees from discrimination, harassment and victimisation because of protected characteristics. This is particularly important where termination relates to absence, performance, conduct or organisational change.

Before deciding to terminate, employers should consider whether disability, pregnancy, maternity or another protected circumstance could be relevant. In disability-related cases, reasonable adjustments may need to be considered before reaching decisions about capability or absence.

Notice and final payments

Employers need to check contractual and statutory notice requirements when employment ends. Depending on the circumstances, an employee may be required to work their notice, placed on garden leave or paid in lieu of notice where the contract and circumstances allow.

Final pay should also be checked carefully, including salary, accrued holiday, contractual bonuses or commission where applicable, deductions and any other outstanding payments. The written termination documentation should be consistent with the actual payments and arrangements being made.

Redundancy and collective consultation

Where termination arises from redundancy, the employer must consider the specific redundancy rules rather than treating the situation as an ordinary dismissal. This includes identifying the genuine redundancy situation, consulting affected employees and applying fair selection criteria where relevant.

Where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within a 90-day period, collective consultation obligations can apply under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. These requirements sit alongside individual consultation.

TUPE and transfers

TUPE can impose specific obligations where employment arrangements change because a business, service or undertaking transfers. Employers should not assume that a transfer itself provides a straightforward route to terminate employment, as dismissals connected with a TUPE transfer can raise specific legal issues.

The relevant TUPE process should therefore be considered before termination documents are prepared, including information and consultation obligations and whether any proposed dismissal is connected with the transfer.

Fixed-term contracts

The expiry of a fixed-term contract can amount to a dismissal for employment-law purposes. Employers should therefore avoid assuming that an employee can simply be allowed to leave without considering the contractual terms, the reason for the decision and the appropriate process.

The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 can also be relevant to fixed-term employees, particularly where employees on fixed-term contracts are treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees.

Good termination practice

Good practice is to ensure that the termination letter reflects the decision actually reached, explains the relevant arrangements clearly and does not introduce new reasons that were not part of the preceding process.

HR should also retain appropriate records showing how the decision was reached, what evidence was considered, what the employee said and how relevant alternatives or mitigating circumstances were addressed. A termination letter is the outcome of a process; it cannot correct a process that was fundamentally flawed.