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Our Guide to Dismissing an Employee for Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR) offers step-by-step instructions, ensuring legal compliance and fairness in the dismissal process.
The five fair reasons for dismissal as set out by the Employment Rights Act 1996 are:
Capability: If a person lacks the skills, qualifications or ability to perform the job role.
Conduct: If the employee has committed gross misconduct, or received previous warnings for serious misconduct.
Redundancy: If the role is no longer required by the organisation.
Legal reasons: If the continuation of employment would cause legal issues, such as a teacher being unable to pass a DBS check.
Some other substantial reason (SOSR)
What is Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR)?
SOSR is a unique category that encompasses various justifiable grounds not covered by the other four reasons. SOSR allows for dismissal when a reason is significant, justifiable, and does not fall within the other potentially fair reasons. It should not be an insignificant or frivolous reason but should justify the dismissal of an employee carrying out a particular role.
Common Examples of SOSR
Business Re-organisation:
If the business undergoes restructuring without making redundancies, SOSR may be a potentially fair reason for dismissal. This often involves changes to employees' terms and conditions, and dismissing an employee for refusing these changes, whether within or outside a re-organisation, can constitute SOSR.
Refusal to Accept Changes to Terms and Conditions:
Employees have the right to resist unilateral changes to their
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The Guide to Dismissing an Employee for Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR) provides employers with a structured approach to navigate complex employment terminations.
This guide outlines the legal framework, procedural considerations, and documentation requirements when dismissing an employee for reasons not covered by misconduct or poor performance.
Its purpose is to assist employers in making fair and legally sound decisions, fostering transparency and adherence to employment laws during the dismissal process for substantial reasons beyond traditional categories.
Related HR resources and workflow
Explore the HR resources that may be relevant before and / or after using the Managers guide to dismissing an Employee for Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR), helping you understand the wider process, maintain appropriate documentation and follow a consistent approach.
Our Dismissal for Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR) Letter Template communicates a termination based on valid reasons beyond the usual, providing clarity and professionalism in the process.
Employment Rights Act 1996: Provides the legal framework for dismissing an employee for SOSR, offering statutory guidance on fair and unfair dismissals.
Equality Act 2010: Ensures that dismissals for SOSR do not breach anti-discrimination laws and are carried out without discrimination based on protected characteristics.
Data Protection Act 2018 (incorporating GDPR): Mandates the handling of personal data during the dismissal process in compliance with data protection principles.
Common Law Principles: Legal principles related to fairness and reasonableness influence the dismissal process for SOSR.
Company Policies and Employment Contracts: Internal policies and contractual agreements may outline specific procedures and expectations for dismissing an employee for SOSR.
Yes. This template has been designed for organisations of all sizes, including small businesses, charities and growing employers. It follows UK employment law best practice and can be adapted to suit your organisation.
Our templates are developed with UK employment legislation, Acas guidance and HR best practice in mind and are reviewed and updated as relevant requirements change. However, every employment situation is different, so the template should be adapted to the circumstances and checked against the employee's contract and your organisation's procedures before use.
Yes, we highlight the areas of the document that you need to update with your own details, and where you need to make decisions to suit your situation. This saves you time and ensures that you meet best practice.
Yes. Once purchased, you'll be able to download it instantly. Templates are provided in editable format (such as .doc or .xls) so you can customise them easily, and in PDF format for easy sharing.
If you're looking for broader support, we also offer toolkits and library bundles that include the Managers guide to dismissing an Employee for Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR), along with other HR templates and policies for fully managing your situation. These may be more cost-effective if you need deeper advice.
AI can produce a document quickly, but effective HR documentation needs to be more than well-written words. It needs to reflect relevant UK employment law, HR best practice, practical considerations and the circumstances in which it will be used. These resources have been professionally developed around that wider HR context, drawing on extensive practical experience, rather than simply generating a generic document from a prompt.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing dismissal processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
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