Ms N Baron v Capita Business Services Limited — 2021

The claimant was employed as a Field Monitoring Officer and was dismissed for gross misconduct after the respondent concluded that she had recorded false information in visit reports, misled management about calls to two subjects in Barrow, and failed properly to communicate with another subject who required a translator. The claimant argued that the real reason for the investigation and dismissal was her repeated request for a company van, and raised procedural concerns about the disciplinary process.

The Tribunal found no evidence beyond the claimant's assertions that her request for a van played any part in the decision to dismiss. It accepted that the respondent had a genuine belief in the misconduct, that the belief was based on reasonable grounds, and that the investigation, disciplinary hearing and appeal were within the range of reasonable responses. The Tribunal also found that comparator situations relied on by the claimant were materially different and did not make the dismissal unfair.

On the wages claim, the claimant argued that she should have received company sick pay rather than SSP while self-isolating due to Covid-19. The Tribunal accepted the respondent's evidence that its Covid-19 pay position at the time was that employees who could not work from home and had to self-isolate were entitled to SSP only, and found that the claimant had not shown entitlement to additional company sick pay.