1 WLR 51 - Unfair dismissal; procedure; an employee must be given an opportunity to explain before dismissal.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; searching for another job is not a breach of fidelity warranting dismissal.
Unfair dismissal; knowledge; post-dismissal knowledge of misconduct goes to remedy, not liability.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; failure to follow a fair procedure usually makes dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; reasonable responses; the tribunal must not ask what *it* would have done.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; two warnings were sufficient.
Unfair dismissal; fairness; fairness is judged not by the tribunal's own hunch but by the objective standard of the reasonable employer in that line of business (redundancy selection of a long-serving electrician over a one-week recruit was unfair).
Unfair dismissal; conduct; in a small organization, a less formal procedure may be acceptable.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; failure to allow an appeal is a serious procedural defect.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; failure to allow an appeal.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; the 'no difference' rule (overturned by Polkey) previously allowed unfair procedures if the result would be the same.
Unfair Dismissal; the classic 'Burchell' test: Did the employer have a genuine belief, on reasonable grounds, after a reasonable investigation?
Unfair dismissal; procedure; failure to tell the employee of the right to appeal made dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; the employer need not prove guilt, only reasonable belief.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; where the employer reasonably suspects a group of theft but cannot identify the culprit, dismissing the group may be fair.
Unfair dismissal; capability; lack of warnings usually makes a capability dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; lack of procedure usually makes dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; reasonable responses; the tribunal must ask if the dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; dismissal for driving a company car without a licence was fair.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; deception in the application process is a fair reason for dismissal.
Unfair dismissal; reason for dismissal; burden of proof. The Court of Appeal held that where an employee raises a positive case that the real reason for dismissal differs from that put forward by the employer (e.g. alleging a hidden or ulterior motive), the burden shifts onto the employer to prove the reason it advances. The employer cannot simply assert a reason and rest; it must discharge the burden on the balance of probabilities. Griffiths LJ: if the employer's evidence as to the reason for dismissal is challenged, the tribunal must decide which reason it accepts on evidence. The case remains important for whistleblowing and automatically unfair dismissal claims where the reason is disputed.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; extensive delay in bringing disciplinary charges made the dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; compensation; if a dismissal is procedurally unfair but the employee would have been dismissed anyway, compensation is reduced.
Unfair dismissal; failure to hear a grievance before dismissal does not automatically make the dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; reason for dismissal; reliance on undisclosed reasons. The House of Lords held that an employer cannot found a dismissal on a reason that was not communicated to the employee at the time of dismissal or during the internal procedure. The fairness of a dismissal under s.98(4) ERA must be assessed by reference to the reason actually given and acted upon. An employer cannot, after the event, rely on information or reasons it had but did not use as the basis for the decision to dismiss. This limits the scope for post-hoc rationalisation of what was in substance a differently-motivated decision.
Unfair dismissal; conduct; belief in guilt must be genuine and reasonable.
Unfair dismissal; appeal; a defect in the disciplinary hearing can be rectified by a comprehensive appeal.
Unfair dismissal; investigation; the investigation must be sufficient to establish the facts.
Unfair dismissal; appeal; a fair appeal can cure an unfair initial hearing.
Unfair dismissal; a disciplinary appeal is a rehearing, not just a review of the initial decision.
Unfair dismissal; appeal; a fair appeal can cure an unfair disciplinary hearing.
Unfair dismissal; disciplinary procedure; the appeal panel can cure defects in the initial hearing.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; the tribunal must not demand a standard of legal perfection from employers.
Unfair dismissal; reasonable responses; the tribunal was wrong to substitute its view (overruled by Foley).
Unfair dismissal; conduct; the employer must have a genuine belief in guilt.
Unfair dismissal; sexual misconduct; the employer must investigate fully even if the police are involved.
Unfair dismissal; reasonable responses; the band of reasonable responses applies to the *process* as well.
Gross misconduct; defined as conduct that wilfully repudiates the contract or undermines trust and confidence.
Unfair dismissal; investigation; the 'range of reasonable responses' test applies to the investigation process as well as the decision.
Investigations into serious allegations (e.g. criminal conduct) require a particularly rigorous standard of inquiry by the employer.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; reliance on a witness statement without the witness attending was not unfair.
Unfair dismissal; fairness; a tribunal must look at the substance of the dismissal process, not just technicalities.
Leading EAT authority on the low threshold for establishing a written grievance under the (former) statutory grievance procedures. No formal labels or 'magic words' are required: provided the substance of the grievance and the substance of the tribunal claim are the same, the claim is admissible. A letter of resignation can itself amount to a grievance. Frequently cited as authority for the proposition that the bar for what constitutes a written grievance for ACAS Code purposes is very low.
Unfair dismissal; warnings; an expired warning should not be the principal reason for dismissal, but can be background.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; 'cure' of procedural defects on appeal. The Court of Appeal held that an employment tribunal should consider the overall fairness of the whole disciplinary process, not merely the fairness of the initial hearing. Where procedural defects at the disciplinary stage are cured by a fair internal appeal, the dismissal may still be held fair. The appellate tribunal must consider whether the totality of the process, original hearing plus appeal, was reasonable in all the circumstances. This requires consideration of s.98(4) factors at the level of the overall process, not only at the point of the first decision. A full re-hearing on appeal can remedy defects such as bias or insufficient investigation at the primary stage.
Unfair dismissal; investigation; where the evidence is a 'he said/she said' conflict, the employer must investigate with particular care.
Unfair dismissal; the tribunal must not substitute its own view for that of the employer; the range of reasonable responses applies.
Unfair dismissal; tribunal error; the tribunal must read the decision letter as a whole and not nitpick.
Procedure; right to accompany; the employee has an absolute right to choose their companion (if eligible).
Unfair dismissal; procedural fairness; failure to investigate exculpatory evidence renders dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; failure to give written reasons.
Unfair dismissal; long-term sickness; new medical evidence produced at an appeal hearing must be considered by the employer.
ACAS Code of Practice; scope; uplift; sham redundancy. An employer cannot sidestep the application of the ACAS Code by dressing up a dismissal that results from concerns that an employee is guilty of misconduct or is rendering poor performance by pretending that it is for some other reason such as redundancy [30]. A sham grievance process in a redundancy context engages the Code in its own right and justified a 25% uplift [53]. The principal answer to the Code's express carve-out of redundancy dismissals.
UKEAT/0095/12 - Unfair dismissal; procedure; failure to allow an employee to be accompanied makes dismissal unfair.
Unfair dismissal; procedure; disciplinary hearing.
EAT/663/94 - Unfair dismissal; procedure; failure to investigate.
EAT/12/97 - Unfair dismissal; procedure; inconsistency.
ACAS Code of Practice; scope. Treats dismissal by reason of redundancy and the non-renewal of a fixed-term contract on its expiry as the two express carve-outs from the Code [12], so that a s.207A TULRCA 1992 uplift is not available in respect of a genuine redundancy dismissal.