Ms Sarah Holcroft v Applegarth Hotel Limited — 2019

The tribunal held that Ms Sarah Holcroft was unfairly dismissed by Applegarth Hotel Limited. The case concerned a confrontation on 25 April 2019 between the claimant and Mrs Clancy, after which the claimant was dismissed by email from Mrs Mumford on 27 April 2019. The tribunal found that both women were responsible for the heated argument, that the claimant used insulting language, including calling Mrs Clancy a "stupid fat fucking cow", and that Mrs Clancy also swore at the claimant and told her to leave the hotel.

On the employer's process, the tribunal found that Mrs Mumford relied on what Mr and Mrs Clancy told her and on a short CCTV clip, but did not conduct any reasonable investigation. The tribunal found there was no meaningful attempt to obtain the claimant's account, no disciplinary hearing, and no appeal hearing. It also found that the dismissal decision had been predetermined before any fair procedure took place, and that Mrs Mumford's interpretation of the CCTV was one-sided.

Applying section 98 ERA 1996 and the Burchell approach, the tribunal concluded that the respondent had not satisfied the requirements of a fair misconduct dismissal. It held that the dismissal was both substantively and procedurally unfair. The tribunal then found that the claimant had contributed significantly to her dismissal and reduced any award by 35% for contributory fault. It also applied a Polkey reduction of 35% to the compensatory award only, and listed the case for a remedy hearing.