Mr Peter Lort v British Airways plc — 2021

The claimant was summarily dismissed after a passenger recorded him removing bags from a baggage carousel in the reclaim hall. The tribunal found that he was trying to resolve a baggage delay, but the video showed him handling bags with unnecessary force, responding confrontationally when challenged by a passenger, and swearing within earshot of passengers. The claimant accepted that dismissal was for conduct, a potentially fair reason, and conceded the respondent's genuine belief and reasonable grounds.

The claimant argued that the process was unfair because the disciplinary hearing was rushed, he was not given the 72 hours specified in the respondent's procedure, and the process was condensed. The tribunal accepted that the initial process was shortened, but held that the video evidence was clear, the claimant knew the allegation, was accompanied by a union representative, and had two appeals, including one where the matter was considered afresh and mitigation was available. Looking at the process as a whole, the tribunal found it was not unfair.

On sanction, the tribunal considered the claimant's mitigation, including long service, clean record, personal difficulties, remorse, lack of customer-facing training, and the fact that he had initially been trying to help passengers. It held that the respondent was entitled to treat the conduct as gross misconduct and that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses, given the customer-facing incident, the recording, and potential reputational impact. For the wrongful dismissal claim, the tribunal found the conduct amounted to gross misconduct and/or a fundamental breach of contract, so that claim also failed.