Mrs L Gornall v Horwich Private Hire Ltd — 2019

Mrs Gornall had worked for Horwich Private Hire Ltd since about 2001, initially as book staff and later as Manageress, taking calls and dispatching cars. After a written warning in August 2018, a dispute on 13 March 2019 about the allocation of a job said by the respondent to be a "trunker" led to her leaving work, suspension on 15 March 2019, a disciplinary meeting in April 2019, and dismissal by letter dated 16 April 2019. The respondent did not attend the liability hearing, and the tribunal proceeded in its absence under Rule 47.

The tribunal held the unfair dismissal claim well-founded. It found that the respondent had not shown a potentially fair reason for dismissal because, on the evidence before it, it was impossible to determine exactly what conduct had led to the dismissal. In the alternative, if the dismissal was for conduct in allocating the trunker to Mr Lowe, the tribunal said it would still have been unfair under BHS v Burchell because there was doubt about a genuine belief in misconduct and no reasonable investigation. The tribunal also found the dismissal procedurally unfair because Mrs Gornall had not been given a written invitation to the disciplinary meeting, a formal right to be accompanied, or a warning that dismissal was a possible outcome, and the respondent appeared to have relied on an expired warning.

The tribunal made no findings on whether the alleged misconduct itself occurred and left any contributory fault or Polkey deduction arguments to the remedy hearing listed for 12 and 13 March 2020. It also found that no written section 1 statement had been provided, which meant Mrs Gornall could seek a possible uplift under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002 at the later remedy hearing, but no uplift or other monetary award was determined in this judgment.