Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is an idiom and legal phrase, describing a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of employment, or a law. What constitutes a wrongful dismissal varies according to the terms of the employment contract, and varies by jurisdiction.

Examples of wrongful dismissal might include:

-- dismissal without going through a contractually required dismissal process, which might involve an escalating series of warning letters, &c, where grounds for dismissal are not such as to meet the test for summary dismissal;

-- dismissal for a wrongful cause, for instance in a circumstance in which a dismissible action is falsely attributed to an employee.

-- racial, sexual, or age discrimination

-- retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim or for reporting illegal employer activity (a.k.a. whistle blowing).

A successful wrongful dismissal lawsuit will tend to lead to two main remedies: reinstatement of the dismissed employee, and/or monetary compensation for the wrongfully dismissed.

A related situation is constructive dismissal, in which an employee feels no choice but to resign from employment for reasons imposed by the employer.