Mr D Brooks v Watson Gym Equipment Limited — 2021

Mr Brooks was employed as a Welder/Fabricator from 1 September 2007 until his dismissal on 29 July 2019. The tribunal accepted that he made qualifying disclosures about health and safety concerns when he was asked to handle and install heavy gym equipment alone, including the events of 28 June 2019 and the grievance he sent on 15 July 2019. It held that those disclosures were made in the public interest because they concerned risks to the claimant, other workers and members of the public, but they were not the reason or principal reason for dismissal.

The tribunal found that the respondent dismissed the claimant for conduct, namely his angry reaction on 28 June 2019, including throwing tools and boxes of bolts into the van and slamming doors. It accepted that Mr Pang had formed a fixed view before the disciplinary hearing, did not properly investigate the cause of the claimant's behaviour or possible mitigation, did not meaningfully consider other witnesses or lesser sanctions, and did not provide a fair appeal process. On that basis the dismissal was unfair under s.98(4) ERA 1996. The tribunal reduced the compensatory award by 20% for contributory conduct and increased the award by 20% under s.207A TULRCA 1992 because of unreasonable failures to follow the ACAS Code.

The tribunal also held that the claimant's conduct did not amount to gross misconduct, so the wrongful dismissal claim succeeded. It additionally found that the respondent failed to provide a written statement of employment particulars and awarded two weeks' pay under s.38 of the Employment Act 2002. The agreed dismissal compensation was £14,560.62, made up of a £5,626.94 basic award and £8,933.68 compensatory loss, and the separate statutory award was £1,023.08. The tribunal recorded that the claimant had not received benefits, so the recoupment provisions did not apply.