EAT UNFAIR DISMISSAL
Reasonableness of dismissal
Compensation
Employee who submitted timesheets which overstated the hours he had worked was dismissed for misconduct. At internal appeal, the officer hearing it believed that he had done so by mistake, and whilst suffering from stress. The Employment Tribunal held that dismissal for overstating time to the limited extent he did, whilst accepting those reasons, was outside the band of reasonable responses. An appeal that the ET had substituted its own decision in so concluding was dismissed. However, the ET held that there should be a 20 per cent reduction for ‘contribution’ when what it had in mind was a reduction pursuant to the Employment Act 2002 for failing to attend a disciplinary hearing, and did not consider whether the ‘mistake’ in compiling timesheets was blameworthy and therefore justified an assessment of contribution. Held to be in error in failing to do this: case remitted, to a different Tribunal (by agreement, and because the Employment Judge was said to have demonstrated a closed mind by his approach to contribution by rejecting the issue out of hand at the hearing, without reasons for doing so).
Judges:
Langstaff P J
Citations:
[2012] UKEAT 0136 – 11 – 2203
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 13 October 2022; Ref: scu.454085