Miss M Hutson v Manchester Foundation NHS Trust — 2021

Miss M Hutson’s remaining claim was for unfair dismissal arising from her dismissal by Manchester Foundation NHS Trust for gross misconduct. The tribunal recorded that there was no dispute that she had accessed the private confidential medical records of a child who attended the same nursery as her son, printed records from the respondent’s computer system, discussed what she had found with her mother, and shredded the printout. The child was not a patient at the hospital where she worked, and the tribunal accepted that the conduct was a serious breach of confidentiality.

The tribunal considered whether the respondent had carried out a fair process. It found that the employer had investigated the matter, held a disciplinary hearing, allowed the claimant to be accompanied, issued an outcome letter, and provided an appeal hearing and appeal outcome letter. The claimant argued that she had been treated differently because another employee had allegedly breached confidentiality procedures, but the tribunal found there were insufficient facts before the respondent to require a comparable investigation and no procedural irregularity in the process used in this case.

On substantive fairness, the tribunal accepted the respondent’s evidence that the concern was not simply the misconduct itself but the risk that the claimant had not fully recognised how serious it was or that safeguarding was not engaged. Although the tribunal was troubled by the way the respondent’s witnesses and correspondence referred to a lack of apology and remorse, it found that the claimant had committed gross misconduct and that dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses open to a reasonable employer. The tribunal therefore dismissed the unfair dismissal claim.