Mr G Nelson v Represented by: Mr F Tait - Solicitor SWAT International Limited — 2026

The claimant's breach of contract and holiday pay complaints were withdrawn at the outset and dismissed. His unfair dismissal complaint was upheld. The Tribunal accepted that the reason for dismissal was conduct, namely that on 18 November 2025 the claimant had straddled and traversed the respondent's roof while carrying out power-washing work, and that Mr Kelly genuinely believed this amounted to misconduct.

Applying the Burchell test, the Tribunal found that Mr Kelly did not have reasonable grounds for that belief and that no reasonable investigation had taken place. Other employees had previously worked in direct contact with the roof without being disciplined or dismissed, and the claimant had been sent to perform further work at height on the two days following the incident. The claimant was dismissed without being given the allegations and supporting material, without a disciplinary hearing or an opportunity to state his case, and without the promised written appeal decision. Summary dismissal fell outside the band of reasonable responses.

The Tribunal declined to reduce compensation for failure to mitigate, finding that the claimant had not acted unreasonably by starting his new employment on 12 January 2026 after his customary festive-period holiday. It also made no Polkey deduction because it could not conclude that the claimant would have been dismissed in any event, and made no reduction for contributory conduct. It accepted that the claimant had worn PPE, including a safety harness secured to the roof ladder, and found that he had not caused or contributed to his dismissal.

The Tribunal found that none of the ACAS Code procedures had been followed and that the failure, extending from investigation through appeal, was deliberate and unreasonable. It applied a 25% uplift under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The dispositive judgment ordered a basic award of £5,033, a compensatory award of £9,250.59 comprising £7,400.47 for lost wages plus the uplift, and £500 for loss of statutory rights, totalling £14,783.59. The recoupment regulations did not apply because the claimant had received no state benefits because of his dismissal.