Mr. B. Bajrami v London Central Bus Company Ltd — 2023

The claimant, a bus driver, was dismissed after an incident on 22 November 2021 in which he drove bus EH 67 onto the pavement at rush hour on the New Kent Road in order to pass another bus. The tribunal accepted the CCTV evidence and the claimant’s admissions that he had not made a safe manoeuvre and had driven onto the pavement, where pedestrians were present. It found that conduct, and not race or religion, was the principal reason for dismissal.

Applying section 98(4) ERA 1996 and the Burchell approach, the tribunal held that the respondent had reasonable grounds for its belief, carried out a reasonable investigation, and acted fairly in the disciplinary process as a whole, including the appeal. It rejected arguments that the investigation should have treated ill-health as an explanation, or that the respondent was required to investigate matters that were not pursued in the disciplinary case. It also rejected the procedural objections raised about notice of gross misconduct, review of the claimant’s record, and the absence of any further appeal right, and it found no basis for a section 207A ACAS uplift.

The direct race discrimination and direct religious discrimination claims were withdrawn at the start of submissions. The harassment claims based on race and religion failed because the tribunal did not accept that Mr Barker had accused the claimant of terrorism, did not accept the allegation that he smirked when dismissing the claimant, and found that questions about the claimant’s personal circumstances did not amount to unwanted conduct related to race or religion or belief. The tribunal expressly said it would not determine remedy at the liability hearing.