Mr D Ghelani v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions — 2020

The claimant, who was visually impaired and also relied on depression as a disability for the section 15 claim, used taxis to travel to and from work under the respondent's in-house access to work arrangements. He claimed reimbursement for taxi fares to which he was entitled, but did not pay the taxi firm, leading to a balance of about £594.90 and suspension of his account. The respondent investigated and dismissed him for gross misconduct, relying on concerns about honesty, integrity, use of funds and possible reputational damage.

The tribunal found that the dismissing officer honestly believed the claimant was guilty of gross misconduct, but that the process was unfair. It found there had been no reasonable investigation into the claimant's mental health as mitigation, despite material on the respondent's file, and that both the disciplinary and appeal decision-makers failed to engage with that issue. The tribunal also found the dismissal was predetermined, the appeal was a rubber-stamping exercise, and that no reasonable employer could conclude on the facts that the claimant had been dishonest, lacked integrity, or created reputational risk sufficient to justify dismissal.

The unfair dismissal claim succeeded. The tribunal made no reduction for the possibility of a fair dismissal and no reduction for contributory fault, finding no culpable or blameworthy conduct justifying such a reduction. The section 15 disability discrimination claim was dismissed because, although dismissal and the appeal outcome were unfavourable treatment and the relevant 'something' was the failure to pay the taxi firm, the tribunal was not satisfied on the evidence that this failure arose from the claimant's depression.