Mr R Schofield v C Sparks & Sons Limited — 2022

Mr Schofield worked as a night shunter for C Sparks and Sons Limited from 14 November 2019 until his summary dismissal on 14 December 2020. The dispute arose after the claimant had brought an Employment Tribunal claim about unpaid breaks, which the respondent later accepted were contractually payable. In November 2020 Mr Self emailed the claimant explaining that the paid-break wording had been inserted into the contract in error and that the matter was being addressed through ACAS. The claimant showed that email to Mr Phillips, who then took a photo of it and sent it to Mr Safder.

The tribunal preferred the evidence of Mr Phillips and Ms Price to the claimant’s account. It found that the claimant allowed Mr Phillips to read the email and to take a photo so it could be shown to Mr Safder, and that the claimant later realised there might be repercussions from circulating the email. The tribunal found that he then sent Mr Self an untruthful version of events saying Mr Phillips had taken the photo without consent, and that this false allegation was made in bad faith to deflect blame. That conduct was held to amount to gross misconduct and a repudiatory breach of contract, so the wrongful dismissal claim failed and the claimant was not entitled to notice pay.

On the automatic unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal accepted that the claimant’s earlier wages claim had been brought in good faith and that he had, in the statutory sense, asserted a right. However, it found that the reason for dismissal was not the tribunal claim but the claimant’s false allegation against Mr Phillips. The disciplinary process was found to have been fair: the claimant was suspended, given the relevant documents, had a right to be accompanied, and had an appeal hearing. The automatic unfair dismissal claim under s.104 ERA 1996 was therefore dismissed.