Mr K Puchalak v TG Norman (Timber) Limited — 2022

The claimant, Mr Puchalak, was a Polish sawmiller employed by TG Norman (Timber) Limited. The dispute arose after the 7 August 2020 incident in which the claimant lifted and carried colleague Craig Sparrow and later said he had injured his back. The respondent investigated after the claimant reported on 7 September 2020 that his injury had happened while lifting timber at work, and it relied on CCTV, witness statements, and medical material to conclude that the injury had instead followed horseplay and that the claimant had later reported the cause inaccurately.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal accepted that the respondent had a genuine and reasonable belief that the claimant had engaged in gross misconduct by horseplay and by falsely reporting the cause of his injury. It found the investigation was thorough and within the range of reasonable responses. The dismissal was nevertheless procedurally unfair because Andrew Norman, the decision-maker, did not attend either disciplinary hearing, and the tribunal held that this meant the respondent did not follow a fair procedure or the ACAS Code. It also found that, had a fair procedure been followed, dismissal would still have occurred, and that the claimant's own conduct caused and substantially contributed to his dismissal. The result was a 100% reduction for contributory conduct and a 100% Polkey reduction, so no compensation was awarded.

The direct race discrimination claim failed. The tribunal held that the claimant's comparator, Guntis Filipovs, was not in materially the same circumstances because Mr Filipovs had been off work after an admitted workplace accident and later long-term incapacity, whereas the claimant had given inconsistent accounts of his injury. It also found that the claimant had not been treated less favourably in relation to training, because he had received on-the-job training and forklift training, and it found no evidence that the respondent's actions were because of race. The harassment claim also failed because the tribunal found that Andrew Norman did not make the alleged remark calling the claimant a "fucking Polish idiot"; it said that, if made, the remark would have amounted to race-related harassment.