Mr R Downey, Counsel For the v Respondent — 2025

The claimant, an optical consultant employed from 11 November 2016 to 7 May 2024, was dismissed after he used a customer telephone number, provided for a safety glasses order, to contact her on WhatsApp from his personal device. The tribunal found that the customer had given the number so Boots could contact her about the order, that the claimant was aware of the GDPR and operating policies, and that the later messages included personal questions unrelated to the order. The customer complained that she was worried because her home address was also on the order.

On unfair dismissal, the tribunal applied section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Burchell approach, and the range of reasonable responses. It accepted the respondent's witnesses, found that the claimant had changed his account of how he obtained the number, and held that the respondent had a genuine belief, based on a reasonable investigation, that he had committed serious misconduct by accessing customer data for personal use and contacting the customer on a personal basis. The unfair dismissal claim was dismissed.

On direct race discrimination under section 13 of the Equality Act 2010, the tribunal found no evidence that the dismissal was influenced by the claimant's African or black origin. No specific comparator was advanced, and the tribunal concluded that a hypothetical white male in the same circumstances would have been dismissed. The race discrimination claim was dismissed.

The claimant's holiday pay claim under regulation 14 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 was also dismissed. The tribunal accepted the contractual term that, on summary dismissal for gross misconduct, any outstanding holiday pay was limited to a maximum of £10 gross, and found that sum had been paid. No monetary award was made.