Mr Mubashir Riffat v One Stop Stores Limited — 2023

The claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct after the respondent concluded that he had failed to follow company processes and procedures and had misappropriated company stock in the sense of disposing of stock contrary to procedure, causing a stock loss of about £690. The tribunal expressly found that the conduct was not theft or dishonesty, and that the claimant made no personal gain from the ice cream donated to a school and charity.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal found that conduct was a potentially fair reason for dismissal. It accepted that the respondent's managers genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct, had reasonable grounds for that belief, and carried out a reasonable investigation and disciplinary process. The tribunal considered criticisms of the investigation, the change of disciplinary decision-maker, the decision-maker not viewing CCTV, and the appeal process, but concluded that any omissions did not make the dismissal unfair because the claimant admitted the policy breaches and the procedure fell within the range of reasonable responses. It found the ACAS Code was complied with.

On race discrimination, the claimant relied on Peter or Peta Malcsinialolv as comparator. The tribunal found that the claimant had not shown prima facie evidence that the comparator made the same type of mistakes but was treated differently, and it accepted the respondent's evidence that the comparator was offered the same 90% store manager rate that had been offered to the claimant. It concluded the claimant was not treated less favourably because of being of Pakistani national ethnicity and that the events leading to dismissal were not tainted by unlawful discrimination.