Mr S Mawejje v Atalian Servest Ltd — 2020

The tribunal found that the respondent dismissed the claimant because it genuinely believed he had stolen company property, a conduct reason. However, the dismissal was unfair because the investigation and disciplinary process had fundamental procedural defects, including the involvement of a principal witness in the investigation, misleading presentation of evidence, failure to gather and disclose the CCTV footage before decision-making, failure to allow the claimant to respond to further evidence, and an appeal which did not remedy those defects.

For wrongful dismissal and notice pay, the tribunal considered the evidence for itself and found, on the balance of probabilities, that the claimant had committed an act of theft. It found that the claimant stored a 5-litre container of pink liquid soap under the LNER stand and removed it from the station at the end of his shift, which amounted to gross misconduct permitting summary dismissal.

The tribunal found the respondent had failed to notify the claimant of the date on which his continuous employment began after his employment transferred to the respondent. It made no award for unfair dismissal or the written statement breach because it reduced any basic and compensatory award by 100% for the claimant's culpable conduct. The holiday pay claim had been withdrawn.