Mr K Fieldhouse v Fyfe Mcdade Ltd — 2023

The Tribunal unanimously held that the Claimant's unfair dismissal complaint was well-founded because the disciplinary procedure applied by Fyfe Mcdade Ltd was unreasonable. In consequence, the Tribunal carried out the remedy calculations on the basis of agreed figures, including a basic award reduced by 50% for the Claimant's conduct before dismissal and a compensatory award limited to two weeks' loss of earnings under the Polkey principle.

The Tribunal further reduced the compensatory award by 50% for the Claimant's conduct, then increased it by 20% under TULRCA 1992 s207A(2) and by two weeks' pay under Employment Act 2002 s38(3). The resulting award for unfair dismissal was a basic award of £544.00 and a compensatory award of £1,829.20, giving a total of £2,373.20. The Tribunal also recorded that the recoupment provisions did not apply.

The Claimant's wrongful dismissal claim was dismissed. The equal pay claim based on like work was also dismissed. On that claim, the Tribunal held that the Respondent had established a good material factor defence under Equality Act 2010 s69 and that the difference between the Claimant's pay and his comparator's pay was not connected in any way to the difference in sex between them.

The equal pay claim based on work of equal value, which had been stayed at the start of the hearing, was struck out as having no reasonable prospect of success following the Tribunal's oral judgment on the like work claim. The judgment records that the equal pay complaints had been formulated as sex discrimination complaints but, by consent, were treated as equal pay claims.