Mrs R Adegbulugbe v Food Standards Agency — 2020

Mrs R Adegbulugbe brought a claim of unfair dismissal only. At the start of the hearing she applied to amend the case to add disability and race discrimination, relying on her shoulder condition, a speech impairment and her race. The tribunal refused the amendment under Selkent Bus Co Ltd v Moore and section 123(1)(b) of the Equality Act 2010, finding the proposed claims were new causes of action, were out of time, and would cause significant prejudice to the respondent.

The tribunal found that the reason for dismissal was the claimant’s conduct during a telephone call on 1 August 2018 with Redfern, the Agency’s travel-booking provider. It accepted that the disciplinary process was prompted by a complaint from the Redfern call handler and that the investigation, disciplinary hearing and appeal were all conducted fairly. The tribunal held that the procedure complied with the ACAS Code of Practice, and it rejected the claimant’s arguments about bias, the absence of the investigating officer, reliance on the call recording, the decision not to call the Redfern employee, the handling of documents, and the timing of the dismissal letter.

Applying section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, including the Burchell and Iceland Frozen Foods tests, the tribunal found that Mr Smith genuinely believed the claimant had behaved unprofessionally, condescendingly and intimidatingly, and that he had reasonable grounds for that belief. It also accepted that dismissal, rather than a lesser sanction, was within the range of reasonable responses, particularly because the claimant was already subject to a final written warning and had given no sufficient assurance that her conduct would change. The claimant’s unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed and the separate remedy hearing was cancelled.