Mr A Goodey v Star Amusements Limited — 2019

Mr A Goodey was dismissed on 21 March 2019 after the respondent suspected that small cash amounts were missing from the arcade float when his breaks covered cashiers' absences. The tribunal found the evidence said to show missing money was weak: the cashiers did not give tested evidence, the diary entries produced by the respondent were in identical terms, no reliable reconciliation records were produced, and Mr Goodey had a generally good employment record. It accepted that he was not shown the alleged statements before dismissal and that he was not offered accompaniment or any real appeal process.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal accepted that the reason for dismissal was conduct, but held that the respondent had not carried out a reasonable investigation or formed a belief on reasonable grounds. It found a wholesale failure to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures and held the dismissal unfair under s.98 ERA 1996 applying the Burchell approach and the range of reasonable responses test. It also rejected reductions for contributory conduct and Polkey-style hypothetical dismissal, concluding that the respondent had not proved that money was missing or that a fair process would necessarily have led to dismissal in any event.

The wrongful dismissal claim succeeded because the tribunal was not satisfied that Mr Goodey's conduct amounted to gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal without notice. It made no separate award on that claim because the notice-loss element was absorbed into the unfair dismissal compensation, which included four weeks' pay in lieu of notice and one week's pay for loss of statutory rights before the ACAS uplift. The holiday pay claim also succeeded: the tribunal found that 1.23 weeks of leave had accrued between 1 January 2019 and the dismissal date, and awarded £468.19 subject to deductions. The recoupment regulations were held not to apply.