SM Trucking Ltd v Dixon: EAT 26 Oct 2021

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT, UNFAIR DISMISSAL
The Tribunal found as a fact that the claimant before the Tribunal, an HGV driver, was wholly to blame for a road traffic accident that wrote off the respondent’s HGV. That accident (together with the claimant’s accident history) also resulted in the respondent’s insurer’s refusal to continue to provide cover for the claimant to the respondent. The Tribunal erred in finding that the claimant had been wrongfully dismissed when on the Tribunal’s findings he had been entirely to blame for the accident.
It was also inconsistent to reduce the basic award for unfair dismissal by only 50% on grounds of conduct under s.122(2) Employment Rights Act 1996 when the Tribunal had effectively found gross negligence or gross misconduct by the claimant.
The Appeal Tribunal substituted the Tribunal’s decision with a finding that the claimant had not been wrongfully dismissed and that his basic award be reduced to nil.
However there could be no criticism of the Employment Judge for refusing to allow the respondent to adduce new, previously undisclosed, evidence relating the claimant’s holiday pay claim, part way through his cross-examination and that part of the appeal was dismissed.

Citations:

[2021] UKEAT 2020-000244

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Employment

Updated: 28 June 2022; Ref: scu.678250