In person For the v Respondent — 2024

Mrs Louisa Mordew started work for Park’s of Hamilton (Coach Hirers) Ltd on 3 April 2023 and was summarily dismissed on 14 November 2023. The tribunal found that her 15 October 2023 Petition Letter about holiday pay and lunch breaks was written and sent by her, even though she later denied that it was her letter. It held that the letter was a genuine complaint about statutory rights, including holiday pay and Working Time Regulations rights, but this did not determine the dismissal issue.

On the automatic unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal accepted that the Petition Letter was an assertion of relevant statutory rights for the purposes of s.104 ERA 1996. It nevertheless found that the reason, or principal reason, for dismissal was not the assertion of those rights. The respondent dismissed her because it believed she had been wilfully insubordinate, had refused to follow a reasonable management instruction to attend a meeting, had undermined senior management, and had contributed to a breakdown of trust and confidence. The claim for unfair dismissal was therefore dismissed.

On the direct sex discrimination claim, the tribunal preferred the respondent’s evidence that Mr Hoggan did not shout at or abuse the claimant during the 19 October 2023 telephone call, so that allegation failed on the facts. It also found that the seven male drivers who had supported the Petition Letter were not valid comparators for the dismissal decision, because the claimant was the only employee believed to have engaged in the conduct relied on for dismissal and the other drivers later met the respondent individually. The tribunal concluded that there were no facts from which it could infer discrimination because of sex, and the sex discrimination claim was dismissed. No award was made.