SOSR dismissal: what is some other substantial reason?

‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ is one of the potentially fair reasons to dismiss someone. What counts as ‘SOSR’ and what do employers need to be aware of if relying on this ground for dismissal?

Dismissal for some other substantial reason (SOSR) is a catch-all category designed to allow employers to terminate an employment contract when no other potentially fair reasons apply. The SOSR depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. There is no helpful statutory definition of the term ‘substantial’, but authorities confirm the reason must not be either frivolous or insignificant.

In practice, SOSR dismissal could include situations where:

There is a clash of personalities, which means that employees cannot work together. Although a breakdown in employee relations might be a fair reason for dismissal, it would have to be relatively extreme to justify dismissal. Therefore, it should be viewed as a last resort and used only when it becomes a business-critical issue.
There is a conflict of interest to keep employing the member of staff. A situation may arise where the aims of two different parties are in conflict, such as when employees have an outside interest in a competing business or where they have a close connection or relationship to someone who works for a competitor.
Reputational risk. This occurs in situations where continuing to employ the member of staff risks your business and its reputation. This scenario is very fact sensitive, but if you are in an industry that requires a high level of safeguarding or confidence, it is more likely that if an employee’s behaviour goes against the confidence and trust required, their dismissal will be viewed as fair.
The employer wants to change the employee’s terms and conditions, but they do not want to accept the new terms. Where an employee refuses to accept a change to their terms and conditions, the only option available may be to give them notice to terminate their employment and offer to re-engage them on new terms. This is commonly referred to as ‘fire and rehire.’ In order to demonstrate this is a fair reason for dismissal, you must be able to show you were implementing the changes for ‘sound business reasons’. This test is not particularly onerous, so provided you can show you were doing so for business reasons and demonstrate this with evidence, as opposed to some arbitrary reason, it is probable that the employment tribunal will agree you have a fair reason for dismissal.
Return to work of the employee they were taken on to replace. If you take someone on as temporary cover for a permanent employee who takes family leave, for example, and dismiss them for an SOSR reason, it is likely to be viewed as fair. It is advisable to make sure at the outset they are aware the permanent employee will return, and covering their absence is the purpose of their employment. You must still follow a fair dismissal procedure, including considering if there are any other suitable vacancies within the business.
There is pressure from a third party. This could happen if a client refused to work with a business unless the employee is dismissed. This situation is probably the most commonplace within a small business and commonly arises in industries where the employer provides employees to work on customer or client’s sites, such as maintenance personnel, contract cleaners or security guards, for example. In these circumstances, if the customer says they do not want the employee to work on their site any longer and there is no other location for them to work, then it is likely that SOSR dismissal will be deemed fair.
Expiration of a fixed-term contract . Short term contracts are often used to cover particular projects or busy periods. When the project has ended or the busy period slows down, the employee may be dismissed under SOSR. It is important to note that the line between redundancy and SOSR for dismissal for the expiration of a fixed term contract is extremely fine, so it is wise to seek advice about this if you are uncertain.