Mr S Idrees v Home Office — 2021

The Claimant, a Border Force Higher Officer of British Pakistani origin, was summarily dismissed after a grievance by a female officer alleging unwanted attention and physical contact. The tribunal found serious defects in the disciplinary process, including that the decision-maker had formed a fixed conclusion that the Claimant was guilty of gross misconduct and would be dismissed before the disciplinary hearing, that the allegations were not properly particularised, and that the investigation did not reasonably establish the factual basis or context of the alleged misconduct.

The tribunal compared the Claimant's treatment with evidence about another white British Higher Officer who had received a final written warning for inappropriate WhatsApp messages to a junior female officer. It held that, although that officer was not a statutory comparator, the case was an evidential comparator and supported the conclusion that a hypothetical white British comparator would likely have received at most a final written warning. The tribunal found that the burden of proof shifted and that the Respondent had not provided an adequate or cogent non-discriminatory explanation for the dismissal.

For unfair dismissal, the tribunal held that the Respondent had not proved conduct was the principal reason for dismissal because the principal reason was unconscious race discrimination. In the alternative, it found the dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair: the investigation was outside the band of reasonable responses, the Claimant was not given fair notice of the charges, alternatives to dismissal and comparable sanctions were not properly considered, and the appeal failed to engage with key grounds including race discrimination, consistency and proportionality. The tribunal also found unreasonable failures to comply with the ACAS Code, with any uplift and other remedies left to a remedies hearing.