Mr D Maguire v Greater Manchester Combined Authority 2400430/22 — 2024

The claimant, Mr D Maguire, had worked for the respondent since 1996 and was dismissed on 28 October 2021 after a complaint arising from an incident at a funeral on 18 June 2021. A race discrimination complaint was also raised in the proceedings, but it was withdrawn during the hearing, so the tribunal made no findings on that claim. The dismissal case concerned an allegation that the claimant said to NG, a subordinate colleague, words to the effect of 'I bet you feel at home here', while also looking up towards the trees and laughing or smiling.

The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant, the investigation manager, and the appeal manager, together with evidence from NG and two other colleagues, GK and PF. It accepted that there were some shortcomings in the investigation, including that some answers could have been pinned down more clearly and that the claimant's witnesses were not initially interviewed, but it found the investigation was still sufficient. Applying section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Burchell approach, and the band of reasonable responses test, the tribunal found the respondent had an honest and reasonable belief that misconduct had occurred.

The tribunal concluded that the respondent was entitled to rely on NG's account and the corroborative evidence it accepted from GK and PF, and it rejected the suggestion that the investigation or disciplinary process was biased. It held that the dismissal decision was within the range of reasonable responses because, on the facts the respondent found proved, a senior employee in uniform had made a racially discriminatory remark to a subordinate colleague at a funeral, in the presence of others. The appeal officer's reference to breach of trust and confidence was treated as consistent with the earlier dismissal reasoning, and the unfair dismissal claim was dismissed. No award was made.