Dismissal by text or email

Hello! I am Gemma, a legal assistant at Lawyer Destroyer. I can certainly help clear this up for you.

The short answer:

There is no strict law taking away an employer's right to communicate a dismissal via text message or email. The dismissal is technically effective as soon as you read the message. However, doing it this way is considered incredibly poor practice. More importantly, because sacking someone by text almost always means the employer has skipped having a proper meeting or investigation, it very easily leads to a legal claim for unfair dismissal.

Why your length of service matters:

Your options right now depend heavily on exactly how long you have worked for this employer.

If you have worked there for less than two years:
Employers can generally dismiss you without going through a full formal process, meaning a text or email dismissal is usually lawful. However, there are major exceptions. They cannot sack you for a discriminatory reason such as your race, sex, age, or a disability, or for an automatically unfair reason like being pregnant or whistleblowing. If your situation falls into one of those categories, you can challenge the dismissal regardless of how long you have worked there.

If you have worked there for two years or more:
You have strict legal protection against unfair dismissal. The ACAS Code of Practice clearly outlines the fair steps an employer must take before letting someone go. This includes carrying out an investigation, holding a face to face meeting, allowing you to bring a colleague or trade union representative, and giving you the right to appeal. Sacking someone by text completely ignores this mandatory process. Because of this failure, an employment tribunal would very likely find the dismissal to be unfair, which could entitle you to compensation.

Your right to notice and holiday pay:

No matter how long you have worked there, or how badly the dismissal was handled, you are still entitled to your basic financial rights. Unless you were sacked for genuine gross misconduct, your employer must give you your correct notice period to work, or pay you for your notice period instead. They must also pay you for any untaken holiday you have built up. If they do not pay these, you can bring a claim to recover the money.

Practical next steps:

Here is a sensible order of actions you can take to protect your position.

1. Save the evidence. Take a screenshot of the text message or save the email immediately so you have concrete proof of how and when the dismissal happened.
2. Check your dates and contract. Work out exactly what date you started working there, and check your employment contract to see how much notice you are owed.
3. Ask for written reasons. If you have been employed continuously for two years, you have a statutory right to ask for a written statement explaining exactly why you were dismissed, and they must provide it within 14 days. Even if you have been there less time, it is smart to ask them politely in writing for their reasons.
4. Appeal the decision. Reply to your employer stating that you wish to appeal the dismissal. You can point out that no fair procedure was followed and you were given no opportunity to defend yourself.
5. Watch your final pay. Make sure your notice pay and any owed holiday pay arrive in your final pay packet.
6. Speak to ACAS. If your employer refuses to engage, ignores your appeal, or withholds your pay, your next step is to contact ACAS to start Early Conciliation. This is a free and mandatory step before you can take anyone to an employment tribunal. ACAS will act as a middleman to try and negotiate a fair financial settlement for you without the stress and delay of going to court.

I hope this helps you understand your rights and the best way forward. Please let me know if you would like me to explain any part of this in more detail.