Where the employer wrongly characterises the statutory reasons as one of conduct he is not prevented from relying on the correct statutory reason where the essential issues are known to both parties. The Tribunal was said to have alighted on a particular phrase in the letter of dismissal, which it construed, wrongly on the facts, as the reason for dismissal, thus ignoring what all parties had regarded as the reason for dismissal up to that intervention.
Held: For the Employment Tribunal wrongly to classify the reason for dismissal amounts to an error of law. Buxton LJ said: ‘I do not think it is possible to say confidently in this case that if the matter is remitted on the basis that this court has indicated, it is inevitable that an industrial jury will consider that Mr. Wilson was fairly dismissed.’
Judges:
Buxton LJ, Hooper J
Citations:
[2000] EWCA Civ 3036, [2000] IRLR 834
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Victoria and Albert Museum v Durrant EAT 5-Jan-2011
EAT UNFAIR DISMISSAL
Reason for dismissal including some other substantial reason
The correct interpretation of section 106 of Employment Rights Act 1996 (‘the Act’) was considered.
The . .
Cited – F and G Cleaners v Saddington and Others EAT 16-Aug-2012
EAT UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Mitigation of loss
The Claimants worked for Respondent 1 who supplied window cleaning services under contract to a local authority. The contract was subject to a re-tendering process; . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment
Updated: 24 July 2022; Ref: scu.342143