Ms D McElvaney-Bryson v Iceland Foods Limited — 2021

The Claimant was employed as a sales assistant/cashier and was dismissed after an incident in which she took water before a shift, tried to pay with an Iceland Bonus Card that had insufficient funds, and arranged for the transaction to be processed with the intention of paying back £1 later. The Tribunal found that she deliberately breached the employee purchase procedure, but that the Respondent did not have reasonable grounds to conclude that she had acted dishonestly or committed theft.

The Tribunal held that dismissal fell outside the range of reasonable responses. It took account of the small sum involved, the finding that the Claimant intended to pay it back, her length of service, the context of her usual permission to buy water before shifts, and the fact that she apologised and said it would not happen again. The dismissal was also procedurally unfair because the Respondent failed to give advance written notice of the allegations and evidence, failed to allow reasonable preparation time, and effectively denied the right to be accompanied.

For disability discrimination, the Respondent accepted that the Claimant's dyslexia was a disability and that it had constructive knowledge. The Tribunal found that taking at face value employees' wishes not to be accompanied at disciplinary hearings put the Claimant at a substantial disadvantage because she could not read or write. Reasonable adjustments required ensuring that she understood the purpose of the hearing and right to be accompanied, and adjourning the hearing so she could consider the matter and arrange support. The wrongful dismissal claim also succeeded because the conduct found did not amount to a repudiatory breach of contract.