Mr Faisal Nazir v Tesco Stores Ltd — 2020

The claimant was dismissed from his role as store manager after the respondent found misconduct concerning recruitment. The dismissal reasons were recorded as employment of one colleague without authorisation and employment of Quevin, who was said to be unable to understand basic health and safety instructions during induction due to lack of comprehension of English. The tribunal rejected the claimant's allegation that there was a hidden agenda to remove him from the business.

On the recruitment authorisation allegation, the tribunal found the investigation inadequate. Relevant text messages and the vacancy approval form were not obtained or considered, and the tribunal found that a reasonable employer would have investigated further before concluding that the claimant had recruited without authority after being told not to recruit. Had that been the only allegation, the tribunal would have found the dismissal unfair.

On the allegation concerning Quevin's level of English and the claimant's failure to follow the interview process, the tribunal found that the respondent had a genuine and reasonable belief based on a reasonable investigation. The claimant had accepted that Quevin had a very minimum level of English, that the standard interview process had not been followed, and that there were concerns about customer interaction, food hygiene, and health and safety requirements. The tribunal concluded that dismissal, following refusal of the demotion offered as an alternative, was within the band of reasonable responses and that the dismissal was fair in all the circumstances.