Mr B Grey v Quest Medical UK Limited — 2021

Mr B Grey was employed as a driver and, on 3 October 2020, collided with a metal post while manoeuvring a medical scanner in the respondent’s warehouse in Warrington. He reported the incident immediately, completed an accident report, accepted full responsibility from the outset, and apologised. The respondent suspended him, held a disciplinary hearing on 12 October 2020, dismissed him without notice for gross misconduct, and upheld that decision on appeal on 4 December 2020. He had 12 years’ continuous service and no previous disciplinary record.

The tribunal accepted that the reason for dismissal was the collision itself and rejected the suggestion that a consultation over drivers’ rotas had motivated the dismissal. It found the Burchell test satisfied: the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, held that belief on reasonable grounds, and carried out a proper and adequate investigation. The dismissal still had to be assessed under section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and by reference to the band of reasonable responses.

Applying that test, the tribunal held that it was not reasonable to categorise the incident as gross misconduct or to dismiss. It treated the event as a one-off accident or momentary lapse, noted that there was no evidence of distraction, speeding, injury, customer complaint, or reputational loss, and said the respondent had focused too heavily on the £22,000 damage rather than the nature of the act itself. It also considered the claimant’s immediate acceptance of responsibility, his remorse, and his unblemished record.

The unfair dismissal claim was therefore well-founded. On remedy, the tribunal awarded a basic award of £9,684 and a compensatory award of £400, with no further loss of earnings because the claimant obtained new employment on 23 November 2020 during the notice period. It allowed £400 for loss of statutory rights. The wrongful dismissal claim also succeeded because he was entitled to notice, and the tribunal awarded £6,876 for notice pay. The total award was £16,960.