Admissibility of Evidence
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Review
CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT – Wrongful dismissal
UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Reasonableness of dismissal
RACE DISCRIMINATION – Direct
RACE DISCRIMINATION – Inferring discrimination
RACE DISCRIMINATION – Burden of proof
The Tribunal did not err in determining that the dismissal of a Black African Consultant for a first offence was not unfair. The Respondent’s reliance upon a pattern of conduct giving rise to concerns about patient safety as a sufficient reason to dismiss was within the range of reasonable responses notwithstanding the fact that there was no single act that could be said to amount to gross misconduct.
However, the Tribunal did err in concluding that the dismissal was not wrongful as it had failed to make the necessary findings of fact for itself to establish that the Claimant’s conduct amounted to a repudiatory breach.
There was no error in concluding that the Claimant had not been discriminated against. The Tribunal’s approach to the evidentiary matters relied upon as giving rise to an inference of discrimination was not ‘fragmentary’ as is apparent from a fair reading of the whole judgment.
The decision not to reconsider its judgment in the light of new evidence from the GMC that no action should be taken against the Claimant was not perverse. The Tribunal was required to consider different matters from those which concerned the GMC and the latter’s conclusions were unlikely to have had a material influence on the outcome.
Citations:
[2018] UKEAT 0218 – 17 – 1805
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 22 April 2022; Ref: scu.616892