Ms T Worth v Twenty-Four Seven Recruitment Services Limited — 2024

The Claimant, a Regional Manager with approximately 17-18 years' experience with the Respondent recruitment agency, was dismissed for gross misconduct on 22 December 2023 following an incident on 26 October 2023 in which she was alleged to have sworn at a client (Poundland) representative. The Respondent's investigation relied on a second-hand account from Mr Sullivan rather than the more contemporaneous account of Mr Marples, who was present in the open-plan office and made no reference in his initial account to swearing, banging or shouting. The Claimant was not asked for her account before the disciplinary hearing, and the disciplinary chair (Mr Roessler) accepted in cross-examination that he did not consider it necessary because he regarded the allegations as strong enough.

The Tribunal held that the investigation, and in particular the failure to properly consider the Claimant's account before deciding to dismiss, fell outside the band of reasonable responses, and that the appeal process sought to justify the decision already made rather than reconsider it afresh. Alternatives to summary dismissal, such as a final written warning and a move to another area, did not appear to have been genuinely considered despite the Claimant's long service. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore well founded. On the wrongful dismissal claim, the Tribunal accepted the Claimant's consistent account, found Mr Sullivan's account inconsistent and elaborate, and held that her conduct, while a procedural lapse, did not amount to gross misconduct repudiating the contract.

On remedy, the Tribunal applied a 15% reduction to the basic award for contributory conduct (the Claimant accepted she had not followed the proper procedure by speaking to the client directly), a 15% Polkey reduction to the compensatory element, and a 15% ACAS uplift for failure to follow the ACAS procedures. Loss of earnings was limited to 26 weeks reflecting the Claimant's swift re-employment and limited evidence of further job-seeking. The total award was £12,321.73.