Veteran Supermarket Worker’s Summary Dismissal Did Not Fit the Offence

When dealing with allegations of gross misconduct, an employer may conduct an entirely reasonable investigation and disciplinary process, but as one case showed, the final – and perhaps most important – question in a decision-maker’s mind must be whether any sanction imposed fits the…

Jul 05, 2022

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When dealing with allegations of gross misconduct, an employer may conduct an entirely reasonable investigation and disciplinary process, but as one case showed, the final – and perhaps most important – question in a decision-maker’s mind must be whether any sanction imposed fits the offence.

The case concerned a bizarre series of text messages sent by a supermarket worker to his manager. They made reference to a knife and the manager viewed them as a threat. Following an internal investigation and disciplinary process, the worker was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct. He launched Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings, complaining of unfair and wrongful dismissal.

Ruling on the matter, the ET found that the investigatory and disciplinary procedure conducted by the employer was fair. It was entitled to find that the worker was guilty of serious misconduct and had displayed inappropriate behaviour that was capable of causing upset to his manager.

In upholding the worker’s claims, however, the ET noted that the messages were to a large extent nonsensical. They contained no explicit threat of harm and, in the absence of any evidence that they were intended to be threatening or intimidating, there was no basis for a finding of gross misconduct.

When deciding on the appropriate sanction, the employer was overly influenced by the manager’s strong reaction to the messages. The worker, who had 17 years of unblemished service behind him, swiftly acknowledged that he should not have sent them and apologised. Overall, the ET found that his summary dismissal fell outside the band of reasonable responses open to the employer.

The ET reduced the worker’s compensatory award by 25 per cent, and his basic award by 10 per cent, to take account of his own contributory fault. He had recklessly sent some stupid, random messages to his manager without thinking about how they might be received. Following those deductions, his total award came to £47,192.

Health and Safety – Forklift Truck Driver Sacked for Whistleblowing

Workplace whistleblowers operate very much in the public interest but, all too often, they are punished rather than praised for their activities. The point was made by the case of a veteran forklift truck driver who was summarily dismissed after repeatedly alerting his employer to a serious health and safety risk. After witnessing an incident in which a pallet weighing up to 500 kg fell from a height of nine metres, the driver three times expressed concern to his employer that pallets were…

Nurse Victimised for Whistleblowing Receives Substantial Compensation

Workplace whistleblowing is an act of good citizenship and the law frowns deeply on employers who fail to respond appropriately. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in awarding substantial compensation to an NHS nurse who complained of racism and bullying on the ward where she worked. The nurse complained to her manager that junior colleagues were being bullied and that staff on the ward had formed into cliques, divided by race. She also asserted that racial factors were affecting the…

Children’s Worker Succeeds in Disability Discrimination Claim

A man who works for an organisation providing community-based services to children has been awarded compensation after an Employment Tribunal (ET) found that his employer had discriminated against him due to his disability and failed to make reasonable adjustments. When he began working for the organisation, he completed a medical questionnaire in which he noted that he was autistic. Initially his role involved play work provision for children with neurodevelopmental conditions, but he was…