Mrs P Cunliffe v Wigan Borough Council — 2022

Mrs P Cunliffe was employed by Wigan Borough Council as a Complex Dependency Key Worker and had access to the Council’s Mosaic system. The tribunal found that, in relation to GC, a relative and service user, she accessed confidential records on more than 10 occasions across 8 dates, initially to identify the allocated social worker and then to review case notes and related information. The tribunal accepted that she did not have permission from GC or management to access the data, and that the Council’s policies on confidentiality, conflicts of interest and data protection were engaged.

The disciplinary investigation was carried out by Ms Byrne, the disciplinary hearing by Ms Stubbs, and the appeal by Ms Barber. The tribunal found that the Council genuinely believed the claimant had committed misconduct and that there were reasonable grounds for that belief after a reasonable investigation. It held that the respondent was entitled to conclude that the repeated unauthorised access to confidential personal data, together with the related time-recording issues considered in the process, amounted to gross misconduct under the Council’s policies.

The appeal was conducted as a re-hearing and Ms Barber varied two allegations, including the alleged direct management instruction and one flexi-time allegation, but she still upheld dismissal. The tribunal found that the claimant’s long service, previous good record and mitigation were taken into account, but that dismissal remained within the range of reasonable responses because the conduct involved repeated access to sensitive data on a need-to-know system and undermined trust and confidence. The tribunal also found the process fair, so the unfair dismissal complaint was dismissed and no remedy was awarded.