Mr H Ouedraogo v Santander UK plc — 2023

The claimant was dismissed after the respondent concluded that he had made fraudulent ATM withdrawal claims and had been dishonest in saying his bank card had been lost or stolen. The claimant disputed this and argued that the investigation was inadequate, including because CCTV was not obtained promptly and because others, including family members, could have used his card.

On the race discrimination claim, the tribunal accepted that disputes about motive are rarely suitable for strike out, but found that the claimant had not advanced evidence beyond assertion that he was treated differently because of race. The tribunal concluded that the respondent was overwhelmingly likely to show that its decisions were based on its analysis of transaction and login evidence, rather than race, and struck out the claim as having no reasonable prospects of success.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal found that the possible CCTV evidence would not have been determinative because the respondent did not allege that the claimant personally withdrew the money. It concluded that the respondent was overwhelmingly likely to show a reasonable investigation, a reasonable belief in misconduct, and that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses, so the unfair dismissal claim was also struck out.