Mr T D Lipsham v Huhtamaki (UK) Ltd — 2020

Mr T D Lipsham was employed by Huhtamaki (UK) Ltd from 30 September 2013 until his dismissal for gross misconduct on 3 December 2018. The tribunal recorded that the dismissal arose from concerns that overtime had been claimed and approved for hours not worked, and that the claimant was suspended on 29 October 2018 while the matter was investigated.

Applying the test in British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell, the tribunal found that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant had committed misconduct, that it had reasonable grounds for that belief, and that it had carried out as much investigation as was reasonable in the circumstances. The tribunal accepted that the respondent reviewed multiple sources of data, including clocking, entry and computer records, and that the claimant had been given the allegations and an opportunity to explain the disputed dates at the investigation meeting, disciplinary hearing and appeal.

The tribunal found that the claimant knew overtime had to be worked and approved, and that it had to be recorded on the correct date. It accepted the respondent's evidence that there was a pattern of overtime claims for dates where there was little or no supporting evidence of attendance or activity. Although the claimant raised concerns about the accuracy of the systems and said he had done different work on some occasions, the tribunal found he did not provide a sufficient explanation for most of the dates in issue.

At appeal, the claimant said for the first time that he had not worked on the dates in question in appendix 2. The tribunal treated that as meaning the technical challenges to the respondent's attendance data were no longer material to fairness. It held that the decision to dismiss was within the range of reasonable responses and dismissed the unfair dismissal claim.