Mr S Wu v WIND Financial Information UK Ltd — 2025

The claimant, Mr S Wu, was employed by WIND Financial Information UK Ltd from 20 September 2021 until his dismissal with effect from 18 February 2024. This was a claim for unfair dismissal only. The tribunal found that the respondent had established capability, namely poor performance, as the reason for dismissal and that the claimant understood dismissal was a possible consequence of failing to meet the performance policy.

The tribunal found, however, that the respondent did not follow a proper or reasonable procedure. It accepted that the claimant had been given polite reminders and requests about client logs and sales activity, but found these were not expressed in clear warning terms and did not clearly convey that his performance was unsatisfactory. The formal written warning under the performance policy was not issued until 25 January 2024, after the dismissal notice dated 18 January 2024. The tribunal also found that the respondent had not followed a recognised UK/ACAS process in implementing the dismissal.

The appeal meeting on 6 February 2024 was not compliant with the ACAS Code because the claimant was not offered a companion, but the tribunal found that the appeal did address the main issues raised by the claimant. Applying section 98(4) ERA 1996, the tribunal held that dismissal for capability was within the range of reasonable responses, but the dismissal was unfair because of the procedural failings. On remedy, the tribunal applied a Polkey reduction, found the claimant would likely have been dismissed after a further four months, capped compensatory loss at four months' salary and benefits, and ordered a 25% uplift for the ACAS Code breach. A further one-day hearing was listed to assess the monetary amount payable.