Mr M J Saxon v S Williams Carpet Fitting Services Ltd — 2019

Mr Saxon was employed by the respondent from 12 August 2014 and was dismissed on 22 November 2018 after an incident on 15 November 2018 involving Garry Williams. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant, Stephen Williams and Ryan Williams, together with witness material from colleagues and suppliers. It found that during the 15 November incident the claimant was argumentative, used obscene language, and physically grabbed and pinned Garry Williams against a wall in front of suppliers, although it accepted that Garry Williams had tugged at the claimant's coat and that there had been earlier friction between them in January 2018.

Applying section 98 ERA 1996, the Burchell test and the band of reasonable responses, the tribunal held that the respondent had a genuine belief in misconduct on reasonable grounds after a sufficient investigation. It relied on the claimant's admissions, the witness statements from suppliers and colleagues, and the fact that the respondent questioned Garry Williams again after the claimant's interview. The tribunal held that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses and that the appeal did not render the process unfair. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed, and the tribunal said that if it had been wrong on liability it would have reduced compensation by 100% for contributory conduct.

On wrongful dismissal, the tribunal found that the claimant's conduct amounted to gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal without notice. On wages, it found that £283.24 had been deducted from final pay in respect of a loan for car repairs, but that the claimant had not signified in writing his agreement to the deduction. The email exchange after dismissal was held to be insufficient for section 13(1)(b) ERA 1996, so the unlawful deduction of wages claim succeeded and the respondent was ordered to pay £283.24.