Mrs A Smith v Royal Mail Group Limited — 2022

The claimant was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct after a special delivery item was mis-delivered to the wrong address, signed for by the claimant, and placed through a window, leading to customer complaints and reported property damage. The parties agreed that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of the conduct and had reasonable grounds for that belief; the dispute was whether dismissal was reasonable and procedurally fair.

The tribunal found that the investigation was within the range of what a reasonable employer would have done. It accepted that the respondent had not formally recorded the claimant's workplace accidents as it should have done, but found that the disciplinary and appeal decision-makers accepted the relevant facts about the claimant's injury, sickness absence and previous good character, and that further enquiries would not have materially changed the investigation.

The tribunal found that the appeal officer's removal of the fraud charge did not make the dismissal procedurally unfair, because the remaining charges concerned the same conduct and were capable of justifying dismissal. It also found that the claimant's mitigating circumstances, comparator cases, previous good record, and the respondent's reliance on reputational damage had been considered. Overall, dismissal was within the band of reasonable responses, and the unfair dismissal claim was dismissed.