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Common Reasons for Wrongful Termination

Wrongful termination, sometimes called wrongful or unfair dismissal, refers to the unjustified dismissal of an employee. For determination to be labeled as wrongful, it must breach the employee’s contract.

If you have recently been dismissed from your job, you may be wondering what the reason for this dismissal is. You may also be wondering what you can do in this situation.

There are many reasons why wrongful dismissal may occur in the workplace. It may be the premature termination of an employee’s contract without reason or dismissal based on discrimination.

If you or somebody you know has recently been dismissed and you are unsure whether or not it can be classed as wrongful termination, this article may help you.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Wrongful Termination?

Here are the most common reasons for wrongful termination in the workplace.

Discrimination

Unfortunately, one of the most common reasons for wrongful termination is discrimination. Sometimes, even when an employee is on Probation period at work, they might come across a situation of wrongful termination. 

Not only this, but employers may dismiss one of their staff members due to age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or physical disability.

It can often be difficult to determine whether discrimination was the cause for wrongful dismissal. However, if there is no other clear reason for the dismissal, the employee has every right to appeal against their employer.

Pregnancy

Perhaps one of the less common reasons for wrongful dismissal, but an important one nonetheless, is pregnancy.

Employers may worry that a pregnant employee will be unable to complete their job as efficiently or to as high a standard as the other team members. They may also worry that once their employee has given birth, they won’t be able to work as many hours. These worries can often lead to pregnancy discrimination and wrongful dismissal.

Military Status

Another reason why employers may start to become worried about one of their employees, leading them to dismiss this employee, is military status.

Military families often move locations very frequently and this can be a cause for concern for many employers. However, it is not a fair reason for dismissal and the employee may be able to claim against their employer in this situation.

What Should You Do If You’ve Been Wrongfully Dismissed?

The best thing to do if you feel like your dismissal was unfair is to contact a wrongful termination lawyer in Illinois. Your attorney will help you to file a wrongful termination claim against your employer.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked for your employer when it comes to making a wrongful dismissal claim. You are able to claim no matter how long you have been employed in the company if you have a valid reason and you can show factual evidence against your employer.

If you win your wrongful dismissal claim, you may be offered your job back. Alternatively, your employer will need to pay out compensation to cover the legal expenses for your claim and any income losses associated with your unfair dismissal.

Jeff Campbell