Mr Richard Harper v The Secretary of State for Justice — 2019

The claimant, a prison officer, was dismissed after an incident on 24 August 2017 involving use of force on a prisoner. The tribunal found that the respondent had a potentially fair conduct reason for dismissal, carried out a reasonable investigation, and reasonably concluded from the CCTV and witness evidence that the claimant had used excessive force. It also found that the claimant's failure to acknowledge wrongdoing contributed to a serious loss of trust.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's allegations that Governors Hudson or Huntington were biased against him because of his earlier disability discrimination claim about footwear. It found that the investigation was triggered by the claimant's attempts to obtain a crime reference number and the subsequent review of CCTV, not by the earlier claim. Although some comments by Governor Huntington at the disciplinary hearing could suggest possible prejudgment, the tribunal accepted his explanation and found that the appeal process would in any event have rectified any defect.

The wrongful dismissal claim failed because the tribunal found that the claimant's conduct, including the unreasonable use of force and failure to acknowledge wrongdoing, amounted to a fundamental breach of contract entitling the respondent to dismiss summarily. The victimisation claim also failed because the tribunal found no facts from which it could conclude that the investigation, disciplinary process or dismissal were caused by the protected act.