MR J TOBA v Network Rail Infrastructure Limited — 2024

The claimant, a Duty Signaller, was dismissed after an incident in which the respondent concluded he had been asleep while signed into and responsible for Panel 1 and supervising an unqualified trainee. The claimant denied being asleep and said he had been meditating. The tribunal found on the balance of probabilities that he was asleep, that his meditation account was untrue, and that his initial comments to management had acknowledged dozing off.

On direct race discrimination, the tribunal considered the claimant's proposed comparators and found their circumstances were not materially comparable. It also considered a hypothetical white comparator and found that such a person would have been subjected to a safety investigation, disciplinary proceedings and summary dismissal. The tribunal found no evidence that race was in play in the decisions to investigate, charge, dismiss or uphold the dismissal on appeal.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal accepted that conduct was the reason for dismissal and a potentially fair reason under section 98 ERA 1996. It found the investigation, disciplinary hearing and appeal were within the range of reasonable procedures, with any deficiencies addressed by the appeal. Given the safety-critical role, the tribunal found summary dismissal was within the band of reasonable responses and dismissed all remaining claims.