Mr M Chowdhury v Iceland Foods Limited — 2021

The claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct after the respondent concluded that he had removed stock from the store without paying for it and without the required authorisation under the respondent's colleague giveaway process. The tribunal accepted that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, based on CCTV, witness evidence, interviews with the claimant, and the absence of records showing the items had been scanned as waste or colleague giveaway.

The tribunal found that the respondent had reasonable grounds for that belief. It accepted that the claimant understood the relevant stock and colleague giveaway policies, that the colleagues from whom he said he had permission did not confirm his account, and that the respondent was entitled to rely on the claimant's statement during the disciplinary process that he had taken a doner kebab without permission.

The tribunal identified some flaws in the investigation and procedure, including that the respondent should have made a better search for CCTV and that some internal procedural steps were not followed. However, it concluded that the investigation and procedure were fair when considered as a whole, including the appeal-stage interviews with relevant colleagues. It also found that dismissal for theft of stock was within the range of reasonable responses, even taking into account the claimant's length of service and clean disciplinary record. The unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal claims therefore failed and were dismissed.