Mr D McQueen v Goodwin Tyres Ltd — 2019

Mr D McQueen worked for Goodwin Tyres as a tyre fitter from October 2014 until his dismissal in August 2018. The tribunal found that he and Mr Goodwin did not get on and argued regularly, but that no disciplinary warnings had been issued before the incident on 31 July 2018. On that day, the claimant went to the premises next to Mr Goodwin's home to eat lunch. The tribunal found that Mr Goodwin came out of a meeting, started an argument with him, and that both men shouted and swore. Mr Anthony then told the claimant to go home and said he would try to sort matters out the next day.

The tribunal found that the decision to dismiss was taken at a meeting on 1 August 2018 without taking the claimant's version of events or carrying out any investigation. Ms Shearer then telephoned the claimant to tell him that he had been dismissed, and the dismissal letter of 2 August said he had sworn and acted aggressively towards senior members of staff. The tribunal found that the dismissal was for misconduct, but not gross misconduct, and that the respondent had not followed its own handbook or the ACAS Code. It also found that the respondent did not consider alternative sanctions before dismissal.

Applying Burchell and section 98(4) ERA 1996, the tribunal held that the respondent did not have a reasonable belief founded on a reasonable investigation, and that dismissal was outside the band of reasonable responses. It took account of the claimant's clean disciplinary record, the absence of prior warnings, and the fact that the same kind of arguments had occurred before without disciplinary action. The tribunal therefore found the dismissal unfair and awarded a basic award of £1,156.80 and a compensatory award of £6,551.26, with the compensatory figure reflecting 22 weeks' net loss and pension contributions, mitigation earnings, a 15% Polkey reduction, and a 25% uplift for failure to follow the ACAS Code. The final total award recorded was £7,708.06.