Ms N Wadley v Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council — 2019

The claimant, Ms N Wadley, brought claims of unfair dismissal and race discrimination arising from her role as Interim Head of Sourcing Services. The race discrimination claim was withdrawn at a preliminary hearing on 5 December 2018 and dismissed by Employment Judge Warren, so the substantive judgment dealt only with unfair dismissal.

The tribunal applied section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Burchell approach to misconduct dismissal, asking whether the respondent carried out a reasonable investigation, whether it genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, whether that belief was based on reasonable grounds, and whether dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses. The tribunal also had regard to the appeal stage as part of the overall dismissal process.

On the facts, the tribunal found that the respondent’s investigation was reasonable. It accepted that the inquiry into Alun Morgan began before there was any individual complaint about the claimant, that the claimant was later interviewed about procurement concerns, and that the investigation produced documentary material and witness evidence, including evidence from Gaynor Gamble, Jane Harrington and an email from Suzanne McCormack, which the respondent was entitled to rely on. The tribunal rejected the claimant’s argument that the investigation was rendered unfair because she was not warned at the earlier July/September contact stage that she might herself be under suspicion.

The tribunal found that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was personally culpable and had reasonable grounds for that belief. It accepted the respondent’s case that the claimant was an experienced procurement professional who should have challenged the red flags in relation to Morgan Bristol Limited and related payments, even though some of the underlying arrangements had been put in place by more senior colleagues. Although the appeal panel overturned some findings, it upheld summary dismissal, and the tribunal concluded that the dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed, and no monetary award was made.