Ms D Eustace v Nottingham Trent University Heard : via Cloud Video Platform in the Midlands (East) region — 2021

Ms D Eustace worked for Nottingham Trent University as an Information Assistant in the Boots Library from 14 November 2017 until her dismissal with immediate effect on 14 May 2020. The dismissal followed incidents on 7 February 2020 involving three separate confrontations with students at the library. The tribunal accepted that the claimant was distressed and frightened by what happened, but it also found that she became angry during the incidents, did not deal with them well, and briefly held up her phone towards the students as she left the library. It also noted that the respondent investigated the matter, held disciplinary and appeal hearings, and relied on witness evidence and CCTV footage.

The tribunal found that the reason for dismissal was misconduct relating to the claimant's behaviour in the library, not the reasons advanced under section 100(d) or section 100(e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It held that she had not been dismissed for leaving her place of work or for taking appropriate steps to protect herself or others from danger. Applying the Burchell test, the tribunal was satisfied that the dismissing officer genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, had reasonable grounds for that belief, and carried out a reasonable investigation. It also found that the procedure used by the respondent was fair.

Even so, the tribunal held that dismissal was outside the range of reasonable responses. It found that the decision-makers gave insufficient weight to the students' conduct, the absence of the claimant's supervisor, the claimant's distress, and the evidence that she had been surrounded and threatened by students. It also noted that her conduct did not clearly fit the respondent's own examples of gross misconduct and that this was her first formal disciplinary matter. The tribunal therefore upheld the unfair dismissal claim, but reduced both the basic and compensatory awards by 65% for contributory conduct. It calculated a basic award of £176.40, a compensatory award of £4,554.54, a prescribed element of £3,286.16, and a total award of £4,730.94.