Ms E Dye v Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 2023

Ms E Dye brought an unfair dismissal claim arising from her dismissal from her role as Patient Administrator, which she had held for over six years. The respondent said she was dismissed for gross misconduct after CCTV and an investigation indicated that she had taken a colleague’s bag; the claimant denied that, said another employee could have taken it, and argued the footage had not shown the full picture.

At the preliminary hearing, Employment Judge Emery considered strike-out authorities including Balls, Tayside Public Transport, Ezsias, Mechkarov, Romanowska, Hawkins and Ahir. The judge also identified the full-merits unfair dismissal test as the Burchell test, including whether the employer acted reasonably in its investigation and in deciding to dismiss, and whether dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses.

The tribunal accepted that the respondent had a straightforward and well-documented explanation, that the CCTV showed the claimant as the only person entering through the relevant door during the relevant period, and that her movements were capable of supporting the respondent’s belief that she had taken the bag. It further accepted that the respondent had a genuine and reasonable belief in misconduct, had carried out a reasonable investigation, had considered the claimant’s explanation, and that there was no crucial core of disputed fact requiring a full hearing. The tribunal concluded that the claim had no reasonable prospects of success, in particular on procedural fairness and range of reasonable responses, and struck it out; any listed hearing was vacated.