Miss Stanley (counsel) For the v Mr Forrest (HR Adviser) — 2020

The tribunal found that Mr S Ward had been continuously employed by Federal Mogul Coventry Limited for at least two years ending with the effective date of termination, so his unfair dismissal complaint was accepted for determination. It upheld that complaint and rejected the respondent's case that dismissal for some other substantial reason was well founded.

Although unfair dismissal was established, the tribunal applied Polkey principles and found that, had the respondent put the claimant through a fair process at the material time, he would nevertheless have been fairly dismissed by 14 August 2020. The judgment therefore directed that remedy would need to take that finding into account.

On the Equality Act claims, the tribunal found that the claimant was disabled within the meaning of section 6(1) Equality Act 2010 by reason of his angina. It dismissed the direct discrimination claim under section 13 because the claimant was not dismissed by reason of his disability, and it dismissed the section 15 claim because he was not dismissed by reason of sickness absence arising from his disability. The case was listed to proceed to a separate remedy hearing on 14 October 2020 in respect of the successful unfair dismissal complaint.