Ian Drury v Ministry of Defence — 2021

The claimant had worked for the respondent since 1982 and was dismissed for gross misconduct on 6 February 2020 after a period of absence and failure to provide sick notes. The tribunal found that by early 2019 at the latest the claimant was experiencing difficulties with his mental health, although he had no formal diagnosis, and that those difficulties lasted at least until the end of his appeal.

The tribunal accepted that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, but found that belief was not based on reasonable grounds. It held that the respondent had significant non-medical evidence suggesting mental health problems, including concerns raised by the claimant's manager, colleagues and HR, the claimant's unusual statements, and later occupational health material indicating he was unfit to attend a stressful meeting.

The tribunal also found the procedure unfair. It held that the respondent did not seriously consider whether the claimant's mental health affected his ability to engage, relied at appeal on a GP-record point not put to the claimant, and did not adequately consider mitigation, lesser sanctions, or whether the attendance policy should have been used. It found a 25% chance that the claimant would still have been dismissed after a fair process, made no reduction for contributory conduct, and found the respondent had not proved gross misconduct sufficient to justify dismissal without notice.