The Employment Relations Act 1999 fixes a maximum amount. As at October 2001 this figure was £51,700. There is no maximum amount of compensation in discrimination cases.

If you are dismissed contact your GMB representative immediately.

The one-year service qualification does not apply where the dismissal was for pregnancy, for trade union membership, for trying to enforce a statutory right, for health and safety reasons and for refusing to work on a Sunday as a protected or opted out worker. Workplace representatives also fall into this category. All dismissals for these reasons are also regarded as automatically unfair. If you are dismissed in one of these circumstances contact your GMB representative at once.

Even if you haven't worked for long enough to claim unfair dismissal, you have a legal right to a period of notice before dismissal. The minimum notice you can be given is a week, provided that you have been working for at least a month. Thereafter for every year worked you have the right to a week's notice up to a maximum of 12 weeks. If an employer dismisses in breach of the contract (for example without giving the notice required by contract/statute) this is called a “wrongful” dismissal. Equally, of course, if you were resigning you should give whatever notice is stipulated in your contract, although often employers will not follow this up. If you believe you have been wrongfully dismissed contact your GMB representative .

If your employers say that they no longer need you to do the work you do and you have been working for two years you are entitled to redundancy pay of a weeks' pay (to a maximum of £240) (2001) for every year of service. Employers have to consult employee representatives whenever they propose 20 or more redundancies. They should also consult you. If you are dismissed for redundancy without any consultation contact your GMB representative immediately.