Mr Glyn Price v Fleet Express and Logistics Ltd — 2023

The Claimant, Mr Glyn Price, was employed as a trailer loader from 3 January 2018 until his summary dismissal on 16 December 2022. The Tribunal heard conflicting evidence about incidents on 8 and 9 December 2022. It accepted the Claimant's account of the 8 December incident, finding that Mr Pugh followed him out and shouted at him, but found on the balance of probabilities that the 9 December incident occurred as Mr Pugh described it, namely that the Claimant acted aggressively towards him after the earlier dispute.

Although the Respondent had a potentially fair reason for dismissal under section 98(2)(b) Employment Rights Act 1996, the Tribunal found the dismissal unfair under section 98(4). Applying the Burchell guidance, it accepted that the Respondent believed the Claimant had committed misconduct and had reasonable grounds for that belief, but held that the investigation was not reasonable. The Claimant was not shown the CCTV relied on by the Respondent, was not given an opportunity to comment on it, and was not told about the significance placed on another employee's reluctance to give evidence. The dismissal letter also gave very little detail of the allegation.

The Tribunal further found procedural unfairness in the appeal process. The appeal hearing did not take place until 30 January 2023, after the appeal was lodged on 19 December 2022, and by then the CCTV had been deleted. The Tribunal accepted that there had been a Christmas period and some leave, but held that the appeal should have been treated as a priority and that the delay breached the ACAS Code on disciplinary and grievance procedures. It noted that the Respondent was a relatively small employer, but said the basic fairness failures should still have been avoided.

On remedy, the Tribunal found that the Claimant had four complete years' service and was aged 63, with a gross annual salary of £12,348 and a weekly pay figure of £237.46 for basic award purposes. It awarded a basic award of £1,424.76 and a compensatory award of £9,548 before deductions. It then reduced both awards by 75% for contributory conduct, reflecting the finding that the Claimant had acted aggressively, but declined to make any Polkey deduction. The final award payable was £2,743.19, made up of a basic award of £356.19 and a compensatory award of £2,387.