There's a list of reasons, any one of which your boss can use to say your dismissal was fair. But what you do about it, according to employment lawyer Kate Catherall of Aaron & Partners, rests on whether or not you want to keep your job. 'It really depends on what the employee is trying to achieve,' she says. 'If someone wants to save their job, they should go to the human resources department and fight their corner. But often, people realise they are being unfairly treated and know the reality is that they're going to get pushed out one way or the other. They will let the company continue to treat them badly in the hope of having a stronger claim later.'

If a driver or other employee has already been dismissed and believes it to have been unfair, they should first write to their ex-employer outlining the reasons why they believe the dismissal was unfair and asking for compensation, Catherall adds. It's worth letting the employer know that you'll be issuing proceedings if you don't hear back within a reasonable period (say, seven to 14 days), too. If that doesn't work, it's time to take your case to an employment tribunal. If successful you could end up with a basic award of up to £8100 and a compensatory award of up to £55,000. But bear in mind that compensatory awards are usually only made to compensate you for lost earnings resulting from unfair dismissal. So if you're dismissed one day and end up in work the next, no compensation is likely, says Catherall. And tribunals expect employees to look for alternative work immediately. Legal costs, however, are rarely awarded in unfair dismissal claims. In 2002-2003, for instance, it was in only 1% of all cases.

(For full story see April's edition of T&D)