Any misconduct must be investigated by the employer fairly. Businesses should follow a process including investigation which may (or may not) lead to a disciplinary hearing. Should the employer fail to follow such a process particularly with staff with over 2 years’ service the business will most like to suffer a financial penalty under an unfair dismissal claim at an Employment Tribunal. However, this was not the case in Gallacher v Abellio Scotrial Limited.
Claim
Ms Gallacher (senior manager) reported to Ms Taggart (Head of Customer Experience and Standards) at Abellio Scotrial. At the end of 2016, their relationship had deteriorated due to a number of workplace disagreements. During a performance appraisal review meeting, discussions got very heated and Ms Gallacher was dismissed on the spot. Ms Gallacher brought an unfair dismissal claim.
In such an extraordinary situation the tribunal found the dismissal to be fair. The Honourable Mr Justice Choudhary concluded that the dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses purely because their working relationship had already broken down. The tribunal also stated had the employer followed a disciplinary process, the situation would have got worse. Ms Gallacher appealed.
The appeal was dismissed. The EAT also agreed with the original tribunal outcome stating, "Dismissals without following any procedures will always be subject to extra caution on the part of the Tribunal before being considered to fall within the band of reasonable responses."
Such cases are unique but there have been other unusual cases which has surprised many of us.
Redundancy
In the case Polkey v AE Dayton services, Mr Polkey had served 4 years as a van driver. His manager called him into the office one day and dismissed him on the spot due to redundancy. Mr Polkey raised an unfair dismissal claim. The Tribunal reviewed the case and concluded the employer should have followed a fair redundancy process but did recognise that even going through a process would have resulted in redundancy anyway.
In such unusual and rare circumstances, employers should still continue to follow ACAS guidelines and not to rely solely on such cases when considering a termination.
The article is for general information purposes only and should you require any further assistance on the matter please do not hesitate to call our advice-line team on 01455 852028.
