In person For the v Respondent — 2022

Mr Wilkins was employed by LC Switchgear Limited from 26 February 2018 to 24 January 2020 as Assistant Internal Sales and Quotes Engineer. His contract contained a disciplinary procedure that expressly applied to misconduct or poor performance, including staged meetings, warnings, an investigation, and an appeal. The tribunal found that a second appraisal said by the Respondent to have taken place in January 2020 had not in fact happened; Mr Fairhall had only prepared a draft review.

On 24 January 2020 Mr Krummeck dismissed Mr Wilkins without prior warning, relying on poor performance and attitude. The Respondent accepted in its ET3 that it had not followed the contractual procedure, but said it had mistaken the terms that applied and believed the more formal process was not required. The tribunal held that the contract required the performance-management procedure to be followed and that the Respondent's mistaken understanding did not excuse non-compliance, so the dismissal was wrongful and in breach of contract.

The tribunal rejected the Respondent's argument that Mr Wilkins had repudiated the contract by not attending the appeal meetings. It found that the contract had already been brought to an end by the dismissal on 24 January 2020, so his later conduct did not amount to abandonment. Applying the approach in Gunton and Jancuik, the tribunal estimated that the earliest lawful dismissal date would have been around 10 April 2020, and awarded damages for the salary that would have been payable to that date.

For remedy, the tribunal found that Mr Wilkins had already been paid up to the end of January 2020, plus one month's pay in lieu of notice, one further month's pay, and accrued holiday pay. It therefore awarded damages for March 2020 and the first part of April 2020, and increased the award by 20% under s.207A TULCRA because the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures had not been followed and that failure was unreasonable. The total award was £4,570.69.