Mr Paul Livingstone, Counsel For the v Ms P Hall, Consultant — 2019

The claimant, a senior broadcast journalist, resigned on 24 July 2018 after the respondent's appeal decision of 16 July 2018 overturned his dismissal but imposed a final written warning lasting two years. The tribunal found that he resigned in response to that decision and had not affirmed the contract before resigning. It held that the warning itself was not a repudiatory breach, but it was the final straw in a wider sequence of events.

The tribunal found several deficiencies in the disciplinary process. The investigation was not thorough, the claimant was not interviewed at investigation stage, obvious lines of enquiry and possible witnesses were not pursued, the report was brief and vague, the disciplinary hearing was convened on just over one working day's notice despite the policy expectation of three working days, the same HR manager was involved in the investigation and then assisted at the disciplinary and appeal hearings, the claimant was suspended without reasonable and proper cause, and there were significant delays after both hearings. The appeal decision also failed to engage with the claimant's fairness complaints. The tribunal held that these matters, taken together, breached the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

The tribunal nevertheless found that there was reasonable cause to uphold the complaint relating to Ms Barakat. It found that the claimant had sent her LinkedIn messages commenting on her appearance, that she had not invited those messages, and that they made her feel intimidated at work. The tribunal held that this was harassment related to sex. It also held that the respondent would likely have maintained a final written warning had a fair process been followed, so any compensatory award would have been reduced by 50% for Polkey reasons. It further reduced both the basic and compensatory awards by 50% for contributory conduct under sections 122(2) and 123(6) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The wrongful dismissal claim had been withdrawn because notice pay had been paid on resignation.