EAT UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Reason for dismissal including substantial other reason – Reasonableness of dismissal – The ET’s Reasons stated it had found that the Respondent had established its reason for dismissing the Claimant, which was a reason related to her conduct. If (as the Claimant contended) it had not so found, its reasoning was inadequate.
In assessing the fairness of the dismissal for that reason, the ET had fallen into the substitution mindset; in particular, it had erred in substituting is view of the witnesses (who it had not given evidence before the ET) rather than engaging with the evidence of the Respondent’s decision takers (who had seen and heard those witnesses) on the credibility of the material before them.
Generally, the ET’s reasoning failed to demonstrate the application of the range of reasonable responses test. This was also true to the extent that the ET criticised the Respondent’s procedure. It failed to explain why proceeding with the disciplinary hearing in the Claimant’s absence fell outside the range in the particular circumstances of this case and further failed to identify why any such procedural error was not remedied at the appeal stage.
Mindful of need for caution before interfering with an ET’s judgment call on an unfair dismissal case, this decision could not stand and the appropriate course was to allow the appeal and remit this matter to be heard by a freshly constituted ET.
Eady QC J
[2015] UKEAT 0035 – 15 – 1405
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 02 January 2022; Ref: scu.550123