Unfair Dismissal in the NHS: Your Rights Under Agenda for Change

NHS Employees Have the Same Rights as Everyone Else -- Plus More

NHS employees are protected by the same employment law as all other employees in England and Wales -- the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Equality Act 2010, and all related legislation. You have the right to claim unfair dismissal after two years service (reducing to six months from January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025). Discrimination and whistleblowing claims are available from day one with no qualifying period.

In addition to these statutory rights, most NHS employees are covered by Agenda for Change -- the national pay and conditions framework that applies to the majority of NHS staff in England. Agenda for Change includes specific provisions about disciplinary procedures, appeals, and the steps the NHS must follow before dismissing an employee. Failure to follow these provisions makes a dismissal much easier to challenge.

Agenda for Change -- What It Requires Before Dismissal

Agenda for Change Section 19 sets out the NHS disciplinary framework. It requires a thorough investigation before any disciplinary action, written notification of the allegations with sufficient detail to allow a proper response, a formal hearing at which the employee has the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague, consideration of any mitigating factors, and a right of appeal against any sanction including dismissal.

The NHS is not entitled to skip these steps because of operational pressure, staff shortage, or the seriousness of the allegation. The procedure must be followed. An NHS employer who dismisses without following the Agenda for Change disciplinary framework has failed to follow both the contractual procedure and the ACAS Code of Practice -- both of which are relevant to whether the dismissal was fair.

The Most Common Grounds for NHS Dismissal

Conduct dismissals in the NHS typically involve allegations of patient harm, clinical negligence, theft, fraud, breach of confidentiality, or serious breaches of professional standards. These are serious allegations and the tribunal will scrutinise whether the investigation was genuinely thorough and whether the sanction of dismissal was proportionate.

Capability dismissals in the NHS involve allegations of poor clinical performance or inability to meet the requirements of the role. The NHS must demonstrate that it put the employee on a formal performance improvement process, provided appropriate support and supervision, and gave genuine opportunities to improve before reaching dismissal. A capability dismissal without a genuine improvement process is unfair.

Redundancy dismissals in the NHS are increasingly common following restructuring of clinical services, NHS trust mergers, and the integration of services. The same selection, consultation, and alternative vacancy rules apply as to any redundancy -- but NHS structures often create additional complexity around which trust or employing body is the correct respondent.

Whistleblowing in the NHS -- Particular Importance

The NHS is one of the most significant environments for whistleblowing claims in the UK. Healthcare professionals have legal and professional obligations to raise concerns about patient safety, clinical governance failures, and unsafe practices. Raising such concerns is a protected disclosure under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and from 6 April 2026 reporting sexual harassment is also a protected disclosure.

NHS employees who are dismissed or suffer detriment after raising a patient safety concern have a whistleblowing claim available from day one with no qualifying period and uncapped compensation. The seven-day interim relief window -- apply within seven days of dismissal to keep your salary paid while the claim proceeds -- is particularly important for NHS whistleblowers given the length of time tribunal proceedings take.

NHS Resolution operates a separate scheme for clinical negligence claims but this is not relevant to employment tribunal claims. Your employment claim is against your employing NHS trust or foundation trust as the respondent, not NHS Resolution.

Your Professional Registration -- The Additional Dimension

For registered healthcare professionals -- nurses, doctors, allied health professionals -- dismissal often triggers a referral to the relevant professional regulator (NMC, GMC, HCPC). This creates a parallel process running alongside the employment tribunal claim. The two processes are separate and each has its own standards and outcomes. A finding of unfair dismissal at tribunal does not automatically resolve a regulatory investigation, and vice versa.

If you are a registered professional facing both an employment dispute and a regulatory referral, the immediate priority is the employment tribunal time limit -- three months less one day from dismissal. Do not allow the complexity of the regulatory process to cause you to miss the tribunal deadline. Contact ACAS today regardless of where the regulatory process is.

Trade Union Representation in the NHS

NHS trade unions -- Unison, the RCN, the BMA, Unite -- provide representation at disciplinary hearings and employment tribunal proceedings for their members. If you are a union member, contact your union representative immediately. They have experience of NHS disciplinary procedures and can accompany you to hearings, advise on your case, and sometimes fund legal representation at tribunal.

If you are not a union member, you are entitled to be accompanied to any disciplinary hearing by a colleague. You can also instruct a McKenzie Friend to assist you at the employment tribunal hearing. BYBL's guides cover the full tribunal process for litigants in person.

How to Challenge an NHS Dismissal

First, exhaust the internal appeal process. Agenda for Change requires a right of appeal against dismissal. Use it. An appeal is a genuine opportunity to correct procedural errors and present mitigating factors. It also creates a further record of the employer's conduct that may be relevant to the tribunal claim.

Second, contact ACAS at acas.org.uk within three months less one day of the date of dismissal -- not the date the appeal is decided. The tribunal clock runs from dismissal, not from the conclusion of any internal appeal. This is one of the most common mistakes NHS employees make -- waiting for the appeal outcome before contacting ACAS and then finding the limitation period has expired.

Third, document everything. Every letter, every email, every meeting note, every investigation document. Request copies of the investigation report, the notes of the disciplinary hearing, and any documents referred to in the decision letter. You are entitled to these under the Data Protection Act -- submit a subject access request if they are not provided voluntarily.

Your Time Limit

Three months less one day from the date of dismissal. Not from the appeal. Not from the end of your notice period. From dismissal. Contact ACAS at acas.org.uk today.