# Can I get my old job back after being unfairly sacked? - Jurisdiction: United Kingdom - Practice area: Employment Law - Published: 2026-10-29 - Last updated: 2026-10-29 - Canonical: https://lawasked.com/uk/employment-law/can-i-get-my-old-job-back-after ## Question I am writing to you from Manchester because I am feeling quite lost regarding my employment situation. On the 14th of February, my manager at the local warehouse told me I was being dismissed immediately due to a misunderstanding about my shift patterns. I have worked there for over four years and have always been a reliable member of the team. Since that day, about six weeks ago, I have tried to resolve this through a formal grievance meeting with the HR department, but they have been completely unhelpful and refused to listen to my side of the story. I have now been unemployed for over a month and my savings are running very low. I know that my dismissal was unfair, but I don't just want money as compensation; I actually really want to go back to my old role and continue my career with the company. However, I have heard that they have already hired a new person to fill my specific position on the shop floor. If they have already found a permanent replacement for me, does that mean I am stuck with just a payout, or is there still a way for a tribunal to force them to give me my job back or at least a similar role in the company? ## Summary It depends, but you are not automatically stuck with just a payout. Even though your warehouse role has been filled, a tribunal can still order your employer to give you your old job back or a similar role through reinstatement or re-engagement. ## Analysis If you take your case to an employment tribunal, the court has the power to order your employer to give you your job back. This is called 'reinstatement' [1]. Reinstatement means being put back into your old job as if you had never been dismissed. When deciding this, the tribunal will look at whether you want the job back and if it is 'practicable' (meaning possible or practical) for the employer to do so [1]. Crucially for your situation, the fact that the warehouse has already hired a permanent replacement for your specific position does not automatically stop a tribunal from ordering reinstatement [1]. The law states: "Where in any case an employer has engaged a permanent replacement for a dismissed employee, the tribunal shall not take that fact into account in determining... whether it is practicable to comply with an order for reinstatement or re-engagement" [1]. This means the employer cannot use the new hire as an excuse to avoid giving you your job back, unless they can prove they couldn't have waited to hire someone or they hired the person before they knew you wanted your job back [1]. If the tribunal decides reinstatement isn't the best option, they can instead order 're-engagement' [2]. Re-engagement is an order that you be given a different job with the same employer (or a related company) that is similar to your old one [2]. This order would include specific details like your new pay, your job duties, and the restoration of your seniority and pension rights [2]. Whether you succeed depends on several factors. The tribunal will consider if you contributed to your own dismissal [1]. If the tribunal finds you were partly to blame for the misunderstanding regarding your shift patterns, they might decide it is not 'just' to give you your job back [1]. ## Statutory citations - Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 116 - Choice of order and its terms. [in force] (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/116) > Where in any case an employer has engaged a permanent replacement for a dismissed employee, the tribunal shall not take that fact into account in determining, for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) or (3)(b), whether it is practicable to comply with an order for reinstatement or re-engagement. - Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 115 - Order for re-engagement. [in force] (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/115) > An order for re-engagement is an order... that the complainant be engaged by the employer... in employment comparable to that from which he was dismissed or other suitable employment. --- General information only, not legal advice. See https://lawasked.com/disclaimer