Mr M Crompton v MLN Ground Management Ltd — 2020

Mr Crompton resigned on 29 June 2019 after an incident on 10 June 2019 involving John Flitcroft. The tribunal accepted that Mr Flitcroft had behaved in a threatening manner, had grabbed the claimant, and that the respondent treated that conduct as gross misconduct, but it found that the respondent’s disciplinary policy left it discretion to deal with each case on its merits rather than making dismissal mandatory in every case of gross misconduct.

The tribunal found that the respondent handled matters badly in some respects. In particular, it found it unfair that the claimant was not given an opportunity to respond to allegations made about him in witness statements, and it noted other flaws in the process, including a statement taken from Gemma Staves’ brother and confusion about the timing of one witness statement. However, it held that those defects did not amount to a fundamental breach of the implied term of trust and confidence, and that the claimant resigned before the grievance process had concluded.

On the claimant’s concern that he was being made to work in an unsafe environment, the tribunal found that he had exaggerated the extent of the risk, relying in part on the fact that he drove Mr Flitcroft home after the incident and returned to work after seeing him on 17 June 2019. It also accepted the respondent’s evidence that a risk assessment was carried out and managers were told not to roster the claimant and Mr Flitcroft together. As the tribunal was not satisfied that the respondent’s conduct had been calculated and likely to destroy or seriously damage trust and confidence, the unfair dismissal claim failed.