Employment Rights Act 1996, section 99

Leave for family reasons

Part X Unfair dismissal

(1)An employee who is dismissed shall be regarded for the purposes of this Part as unfairly dismissed if—

(a)the reason or principal reason for the dismissal is of a prescribed kind, or

(b)the dismissal takes place in prescribed circumstances.

(2) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(3)A reason or set of circumstances prescribed under this section must relate to—

(a)pregnancy, childbirth or maternity,

[F658 (aa)time off under section 57ZE,F658]

[F659 (ab)time off under section 57ZJ or 57ZL,F659]

(b)ordinary, compulsory or additional maternity leave,

[F660 (ba)ordinary or additional adoption leave,F660]

[F661 (bb)shared parental leave,F661]

[F662 (bc)carer’s leave,F662]

(c)parental leave,

[F663 (ca)[F664 paternity leaveF664] ,F663]

[F665 (cb)[F666 parentalF666] bereavement leave,F665]

[F667 (cc)neonatal care leave,F667] or

(d)time off under section 57A;

and it may also relate to redundancy or other factors.

(4)A reason or set of circumstances prescribed under subsection (1) satisfies subsection (3)(c) or (d) if it relates to action which an employee—

(a)takes,

(b)agrees to take, or

(c)refuses to take,

under or in respect of a collective or workforce agreement which deals with parental leave.

(5)Regulations under this section may—

(a)make different provision for different cases or circumstances;

(b)apply any enactment, in such circumstances as may be specified and subject to any conditions specified, in relation to persons regarded as unfairly dismissed by reason of this section.F657]

Definitions used in section 99 8

employee

(1) In this Act “employee” means an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under) a contract of employment.

Defined in s.230(1) · see it in the full Act
childbirth

“childbirth” means the birth of a living child or the birth of a child whether living or dead after twenty-four weeks of pregnancy,

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act
shared parental leave

“shared parental leave” means leave under section 75E or 75G,

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act
carer’s leave

“carer’s leave” means leave under section 80J,

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act
paternity leave

“paternity leave” means leave under section 80A or 80B,

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act
bereavement leave

“bereavement leave” means leave under section 80EA;

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act
neonatal care leave

“neonatal care leave” means leave under section 80EF,

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act
action

“act” and “action” each includes omission and references to doing an act or taking action shall be construed accordingly,

Defined in s.235(1) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 99 21

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council v Christine Oliver

[2024] EAT 193 · 20 December 2024

Section 99 supplies the automatic-unfair-dismissal consequence where the prescribed circumstances are met. The ET could not determine the claimant’s section 99 complaint unless it had been presented or properly added by amendment. (see paras [23]; [59]-[63])

Helen Ballerino v The Racecourse Association Ltd

[2024] EAT 98 · 20 June 2024

For the automatic unfair dismissal claim, dismissal by reason of redundancy was a necessary first issue because the claimant relied on regulation 20(1)(b) MAPLE. The tribunal’s failure to determine that issue required remittal. (see paras [19]; [31]-[34]; [40])

Hilton Foods Solutions Ltd v Andrew Wright

[2024] EAT 28 · 7 March 2024

Section 99 supplies the statutory basis on which a dismissal for a prescribed family-related reason is automatically unfair. The court applied it with regulation 20, holding that the alleged reason could engage the protection even without formal parental-leave notice (see paras [15]-[18]; [27]).

4 more judgments, and what each says about section 99, are in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Amendments and notes

11 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Amendments

  1. F657S. 99 substituted (15.12.1999) by 1999 c. 26, s. 9, Sch. 4 Pt. III para. 16; S.I. 1999/2830, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. II (with Sch. 3 paras. 10, 11)
  2. F658S. 99(3)(aa) inserted (30.6.2014) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), ss. 127(2)(b), 139(6); S.I. 2014/1640, art. 3(1)(i)
  3. F659S. 99(3)(ab) inserted (30.6.2014) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), ss. 128(2)(c), 139(6); S.I. 2014/1640, art. 3(1)(j)
  4. F660S. 99(3)(ba) inserted (8.12.2002) by Employment Act 2002 (c. 22), s. 53, Sch. 7 para. 33(2); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. 2
  5. F661S. 99(3)(bb) inserted (30.6.2014) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), s. 139(6), Sch. 7 para. 39(a); S.I. 2014/1640, art. 3(2)(i)
  6. F662S. 99(3)(bc) inserted (4.12.2023) by Carer’s Leave Act 2023 (c. 18), s. 3(3), Sch. para. 8; S.I. 2023/1283, reg. 2
  7. F663S. 99(3)(ca) substituted (3.3.2010) by Work and Families Act 2006 (c. 18), ss. 11, 19, Sch. 1 para. 41; S.I. 2010/495, art. 3(c)
  8. F664Words in s. 99(3)(ca) substituted (5.4.2015) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), s. 139(6), Sch. 7 para. 39(b); S.I. 2014/1640, art. 7(t) (with art. 16)
  9. F665S. 99(3)(cb) inserted (18.1.2020) by Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 (c. 24), s. 2(2), Sch. para. 27; S.I. 2020/45, reg. 2
  10. F666Word in s. 99(3)(cb) omitted (6.1.2026 for specified purposes) by virtue of Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), ss. 18(10), 159(3); S.I. 2026/3, reg. 2(9)(b) text omitted for certain specified purposes only, see the commentary.
  11. F667S. 99(3)(cc) inserted (17.1.2025) by Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 (c. 20), s. 3(3), Sch. para. 28; S.I. 2025/41, reg. 2