Mr J Wynn v Canal & River Trust — 2020

The claimant, Mr J Wynn, was dismissed by the Canal and River Trust after allegations that he had smoked in a Trust van. The tribunal found that the respondent’s decision-makers, Mr Ballard at first instance and Mr Greenhalgh on appeal, each genuinely believed the claimant had committed misconduct and reached that view on reasonable grounds. The tribunal accepted that their conclusions were based not only on the anonymous member-of-the-public complaint received on 2 October 2019, but also on the photographs of the van, the notes of the investigation meeting, and the email accounts said to reflect the claimant’s conversation with colleagues.

The tribunal found the investigation reasonable in all the circumstances. It noted that the claimant was offered the chance to postpone or delay the disciplinary hearing when he had not yet seen the papers, but chose to proceed on 14 November 2019. Although the claimant criticised the accuracy of the investigation meeting notes, the tribunal found that he had a full opportunity to raise his concerns at disciplinary stage and again on appeal. It also found it was permissible for the appeal to be heard by Mr Greenhalgh alone, and treated the appeal as a re-hearing.

On sanction, the tribunal held that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses. It accepted that the claimant knew smoking in the van was contrary to the respondent’s rules, noted the no-smoking sign in the vehicle, and accepted the evidence that the respondent regarded the conduct as gross misconduct. The tribunal therefore concluded that the claimant was not unfairly dismissed and said it did not need to decide Polkey or contributory fault.