Mr D Kairys v Benchmark Fabrications Ltd — 2020

Mr D Kairys was employed by Benchmark Fabrications Ltd from 16 April 2007 until his summary dismissal on 4 March 2019. The tribunal accepted that the respondent dismissed him for conduct-related reasons arising out of concerns connected with his wife’s business, emails found on the respondent’s IT systems, and a sample book passed to him by Mr Harper. It rejected the claimant’s case that the dismissal was in reality for redundancy, finding that s.139 ERA 1996 was not made out.

The tribunal found extensive procedural unfairness. The same manager, Mr Copping, led the investigation and the disciplinary decision; the claimant was not given written notice of a disciplinary hearing, was not told the allegations in advance in any clear way, was not given the right to be accompanied, and was not provided with investigation notes before the hearing. The tribunal also found that the respondent relied on historic matters, including a 2011 eBay issue and an earlier theft suspicion, even though no disciplinary action had been taken at the time, and that those matters tainted the process.

Although the claimant accepted he had sent two emails during working time and had passed on a sample book, the tribunal held that the respondent had not carried out as much of an investigation as was reasonable and had not formed a reasonable belief on reasonable grounds. It also found that dismissal was not within the range of reasonable responses on the evidence available, and that the appeal stage did not cure the earlier defects because the appeal officer had already been involved in the investigation.

The tribunal therefore upheld the unfair dismissal claim and dismissed the redundancy payment claim. It found that the claimant’s conduct contributed to the dismissal and assessed contributory conduct at 25% for the compensatory award, with a 10% Polkey reduction and a 20% ACAS uplift, but it reserved the calculation of compensation to a later remedy hearing.