In person For v Counsel — 2023

Mrs Knowles was employed by Surrey Police as a Force Control Room Operator from 31 October 2016 until her dismissal on 11 January 2021. The case arose from Macmillan Cancer Support fundraising in October 2018. In August 2019 her line manager, Ms Botley, asked for evidence that the donation had been paid, and the tribunal preferred the contemporaneous notes and emails showing that the claimant was asked for proof and understood the matter remained live. The tribunal found that the claimant had not been involved in organising the head shave, but had organised the cake sale and later needed to account for the money raised.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant was dealing with difficult personal circumstances and did not find that she had set out with an intention not to pay the charity. However, it found that after 29 August 2019 she did not take reasonable and timely steps to resolve the issue, and that she gave inconsistent accounts over time. The tribunal found the text to Mr Bell on 22 October 2019, saying the Macmillan issue was "sorted", was a reassurance she had no proper basis to give. It also preferred the contemporaneous record over later attempts to explain the sequence differently, and it rejected the argument that she had been told the matter no longer required action.

The criminal allegation was not pursued by the CPS, and the conduct process then continued on the narrower allegation that she had failed to provide evidence of the donation and had given varying excuses as to why the charity had not registered it. At the disciplinary hearing on 11 January 2021, DS Geldart accepted there was no evidence of an intention from the outset to keep the money, but found that the claimant had provided inconsistent and contradictory accounts, had not acted openly and transparently, and had given false reassurance to a colleague. She found honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct proved, but not authority, respect and courtesy, and decided that the conduct amounted to gross misconduct warranting summary dismissal. Mr Rutherford dismissed the appeal on 11 February 2021.

Applying s.98 ERA 1996 and the Burchell approach, the tribunal held that Surrey Police had a genuine belief in misconduct, reasonable grounds for that belief, and a reasonable investigation. It held that the allegation had been clearly communicated, that the claimant understood the case against her, that the investigation and appeal were fair, and that dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses open to a reasonable employer. The unfair dismissal claim therefore failed, and the listed remedy hearing was cancelled.