Mr J Desmond v SJB’s Mechanics Ltd — 2021

Mr Desmond was employed by SJB's Mechanics Ltd from 6 October 2007 and was dismissed on 29 April 2019. The tribunal found he had been summoned to a meeting presented as a discussion about complaints and accounts, but that it was in truth a dismissal meeting. It rejected the Respondent's account that the meeting was exploratory, and found the Beers' evidence on that point, and on the contents of the late dismissal-meeting minute, to be dishonest.

The tribunal rejected the Respondent's allegations of theft, VAT discounting, uncorroborated stock losses, rude conduct to customers, loss of the Royal School, and active preparation to compete before dismissal. It found there had not been an avalanche of complaints and that the Respondent did not have an honest belief in the alleged misconduct. The tribunal considered the most probable reason for dismissal to be tension between the Claimant and Simon Beer and a wish to remove him from the business.

The dismissal was unfair because the Respondent did not follow its disciplinary procedure and its response was not a fair one in the circumstances, including on the approach in Turner v Vestric. No Polkey deduction was made. The tribunal awarded 293 for unpaid wages for 28 and 29 April 2019, 11,313.74 for 11 weeks' contractual notice pay, and 67,017.04 for unfair dismissal, made up of a basic award of 7,612.50 and a compensatory award capped at 59,404.80 after a 25% ACAS uplift. It also ordered 20,000 in costs, bringing the total monetary orders to 98,623.78.