A fair investigation process is imperative to avoid a costly unfair dismissal claim. In the case of Smith v Teleperformance Limited, Smith made an unfair dismissal claim and was awarded £6000 (unfair dismissal and unpaid notice pay). The tribunal found that the investigation lacked detail and that the case had not been fully investigated properly.
Mr Smith, a customer service advisor ordered chicken nuggets and chips at his company’s canteen. He was given 3 chicken nuggets and chips. Mr Smith was expecting more nuggets. The canteen assistance offered 3 more nuggets for an additional 99p. Unhappy about his original small portion, he challenged the canteen staff member and forcefully pushed the meal back stating that he did not want a ‘happy meal’. The atmosphere was tense, he went red faced and subsequently a manager was brought in to resolve the situation. The manager decided to suspend him pending investigation.
Employment tribunal
The case was investigated however the tribunal had found a number of flaws in the report as it was very much one sided, in favour of the employer.
The investigator failed to locate a witness with purple hair standing behind Smith in the canteen queue. Further enquiries should have been made with the surrounding witnesses to get their interpretation of what had happened.
Smith was red faced; this was a result of his medical condition. This was not picked up by the investigator but was interpreted as rage.
One witness said he swore and the other witness said he did not. This statement should have been probed further.
Disciplinary
The suspension letter stated ‘alleged assault’ whereas the disciplinary letter was ambiguous and did not explain the allegation clearly but stated that his actions was an act of gross misconduct. Smith stated the allegation was so unclear, he did not know what he was being disciplined for. It is so very important to have a clear allegation as it allows the employee to properly prepare their case.
The court concluded that the investigation lacked rationality and subsequently deemed the dismissal as unfair as the investigation fell outside the range of reasonable responses.
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