Mr M Baxtrem v Strabag AG - UK Branch — 2022

The claimant, Mr M Baxtrem, was dismissed by Strabag AG - UK Branch following a fire involving welding equipment on 10 August 2021. The tribunal found that the respondent investigated the incident through health and safety enquiries, CCTV footage, witness statements, the Sparks report and the claimant's own accounts, and that the arrangements for the disciplinary hearing were reasonable. The claimant's case was that the fire had already started before he moved the equipment, whereas the respondent's case was that he had aggressively pulled the welding torch and feeder, causing an arc flash and fire.

Employment Judge Morris found that the respondent had shown that the reason for dismissal was conduct, which was a potentially fair reason under section 98(1) ERA 1996. Applying the Burchell approach and section 98(4), the tribunal held that Mr Vollaro and Mr Sewell genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, that they had reasonable grounds for that belief, and that the investigation carried out by the respondent was reasonable in all the circumstances. The tribunal accepted the Sparks report as independent expert evidence and rejected the claimant's challenge to its reliability, as well as his alternative explanations for the fire and his criticisms of the disciplinary process.

The tribunal also found that the appeal process was reasonable. Mr Sewell considered the claimant's grounds of appeal, rechecked the CCTV and the Sparks material, and upheld the dismissal. On the evidence available to the respondent, dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses of a reasonable employer. The claimant's complaint of unfair dismissal was therefore not well-founded and was dismissed, with no monetary award recorded.