Mr P Mace v Department for Work and Pensions — 2021

The claimant was employed by the Department for Work and Pensions for nearly 40 years and was dismissed for accessing personal records on CIS Searchlight without authorisation. The respondent accepted that he was disabled by reason of anxiety and depression at the relevant time. The tribunal found that the first access incident was not caused by his mental health, but that his anxiety and depression affected his judgment in relation to the later incidents, including accessing his son's record and records connected with his postcode.

For the section 15 Equality Act claim, the tribunal found that dismissal was unfavourable treatment because of the unauthorised searches, and that incidents 2 to 7 arose in consequence of the claimant's disability. It accepted that protecting data security was a legitimate aim, but found dismissal was not proportionate because the respondent dismissed the claimant without properly considering the impact of his disability, seeking further evidence about his state of mind at the relevant time, or clearly inviting him to provide such evidence.

For unfair dismissal, the tribunal found the reason for dismissal was conduct, which was a potentially fair reason. However, dismissal was outside the band of reasonable responses because the respondent had clear and repeated assertions from the claimant that his mental health had affected his actions and did not make further enquiries before dismissing him. The tribunal reserved remedy, including any Polkey or contributory conduct issues, to a remedy hearing.