Mr M Farrukh v Iceland Foods Limited — 2021

The claimant was dismissed without notice for gross misconduct after the respondent investigated allegations concerning his conduct towards a subordinate colleague and her husband. The tribunal found that the dismissal decision was based solely on two audio recordings: one of the claimant speaking to the colleague in the warehouse, and one of a telephone call with her husband. The tribunal found the respondent genuinely believed the claimant had committed misconduct and that the recordings gave reasonable grounds for that belief.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's arguments that the investigation was biased, that the decision to dismiss had been predetermined, that relevant witnesses should have been interviewed, and that reliance on covert audio recordings made the process unfair. It found some procedural shortcomings, including failures to respond to correspondence and a failure to assist with the claimant's requested companion at the disciplinary hearing, but held these did not render the dismissal unfair in the circumstances.

The tribunal concluded that dismissal for gross misconduct was within the range of reasonable responses, taking into account the claimant's managerial role, the respondent's view of the seriousness of the conduct, and the claimant's lack of recognition of the inappropriateness of his behaviour. It therefore dismissed the unfair dismissal complaint. It added that, if dismissal had been procedurally unfair, it would have applied a 100% Polkey reduction to compensation and an 85% contributory fault reduction, with a 5% ACAS uplift considered in relation to the companion issue.