Employment Rights Act 1996

104 Assertion of statutory right.E+W+S

(1)An employee who is dismissed shall be regarded for the purposes of this Part as unfairly dismissed if the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal is that the employee—

(a)brought proceedings against the employer to enforce a right of his which is a relevant statutory right, or

(b)alleged that the employer had infringed a right of his which is a relevant statutory right.

(2)It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a)whether or not the employee has the right, or

(b)whether or not the right has been infringed;

but, for that subsection to apply, the claim to the right and that it has been infringed must be made in good faith.

(3)It is sufficient for subsection (1) to apply that the employee, without specifying the right, made it reasonably clear to the employer what the right claimed to have been infringed was.

(4)The following are relevant statutory rights for the purposes of this section—

(a)any right conferred by this Act for which the remedy for its infringement is by way of a complaint or reference to an [F1employment tribunal],

(b)the right conferred by section 86 of this Act, F2. . .

(c)the rights conferred by sections 68, 86, 146, 168, 169 and 170 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (deductions from pay, union activities and time off) [F3and

F3(d)the rights conferred by the M1Working Time Regulations 1998.]

[F4(5)In this section any reference to an employer includes, where the right in question is conferred by section 63A, the principal (within the meaning of section 63A(3)).]

Textual Amendments

F1Words in s. 104(4)(a) substituted (1.8.1998) by 1998 c. 8, s. 1(2)(a) (with s. 16(2)); S.I. 1998/1658, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F2Word in s. 104(4)(b) omitted (1.10.1998) by virtue of S.I. 1998/1833, reg. 32(2)(a)

F3S. 104(4)(d) and preceding word “and” inserted (1.10.1998) by S.I. 1998/1833, reg. 32(2)(b)

Marginal Citations