Mr Bashir Ahmed v Royal Mail Group Limited — 2025

The claimant was dismissed for alleged gross misconduct after a complaint by Ms Sharma that he and a colleague had intimidated and harassed her in connection with evidence she had provided in their earlier employment tribunal claim. The tribunal found that the respondent had a genuine belief that the claimant had harassed Ms Sharma on 8 May 2022 and 29 January 2023, and that the respondent was entitled to treat the complaint as serious and to suspend the claimant pending investigation.

The tribunal accepted there were procedural failings, including that the claimant was not given a copy of Ms Sharma's interview notes before the disciplinary hearing and that corrected interview notes were not initially before the dismissing manager. It found, however, that the claimant was able to comment on the material, that corrected notes were later considered, and that the appeal rectified the procedural issue. The tribunal concluded that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses and that the unfair dismissal complaint was not well founded.

On victimisation, the tribunal found that the earlier tribunal claim was a protected act, but the internal grievances were not because they concerned part-time worker treatment rather than an Equality Act protected characteristic. It found that the claimant was suspended, disciplined and dismissed because the respondent genuinely believed he had harassed Ms Sharma, not because he had brought a tribunal claim. The tribunal also found that the interview notes were not deliberately altered, although they contained errors, and dismissed the victimisation complaint.