Mr A Johnson v Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Limited — 2021

The claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct after an allegation that he had taken money from tills. The tribunal recorded that he admitted wrongdoing straight away, disputed the alleged total of £628.09, but accepted taking about £200. The respondent relied on multiple incidents and CCTV evidence.

For the disability discrimination claim, the tribunal assumed for the application that the claimant would establish the physical and mental impairments he relied on. It found that he had no reasonable prospect of showing that being subjected to the disciplinary process and dismissed was less favourable treatment than a non-disabled comparator, or that the treatment was because of an actual disability rather than a tendency to steal, which the tribunal treated as excluded from the definition of impairment. It also found no reasonable prospect of establishing that the disciplinary process as a PCP put disabled people at a particular disadvantage.

For unfair dismissal, the tribunal noted that the claimant alleged a failure to follow due process, but found no reasonable prospect of establishing procedural unfairness where there had been an investigation meeting, disciplinary hearings adjourned for further preparation and CCTV viewing, and an appeal. It also found no reasonable prospect of establishing that dismissal for theft of at least £200 was outside the range of reasonable responses of a reasonable employer. Both claims were struck out in their entirety.