Mr N Kirkland v DLSH Ltd — 2026

Mr N Kirkland had been employed by DLSH Ltd since 3 August 2019 and was manager of the Bonnyrigg store. The tribunal found that he had raised concerns from January 2024 about alleged bullying by Ally and about Dale not carrying out duties to the required standard. It found that in around January or February 2025 he hid 20 bottles of vaping liquid in the premises in order to prompt a stock discrepancy and force a meeting with Mr Henderson. The claimant then told Mr Iwaniec not to keep Ronan and Dave informed until they had spoken, and on 5 April 2025 he was called to an investigatory meeting about "Falsely reporting stock delivery discrepancies to hide till errors."

The tribunal held that the dismissal was unfair within section 98(4) Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Burchell test. It found that Mr Henderson did not have reasonable grounds for the belief that misconduct had occurred, did not carry out as much investigation as was reasonable, and did not have a clear understanding of what allegation was being investigated. The allegation was not properly specified, no till errors were in fact identified, the invitation to the disciplinary hearing did not include the evidence or say dismissal was a possible outcome, and Mr Henderson carried out both the investigation and the disciplinary decision. The tribunal rejected the respondent's argument that the claimant would have been dismissed anyway, and the appeal was not upheld.

The tribunal also found that the claimant's conduct contributed to his dismissal because he knowingly hid stock to force a meeting with Mr Henderson. It found that he was 38 years old at dismissal, had weekly earnings of £540 plus pension contributions of about 3%, and that his later employment with Costco from 10 June 2025 was paid at £12.80 per hour with reduced hours. The tribunal calculated a basic award of £2,700, a compensatory award of £8,222.82 net, and £500 for loss of statutory rights, then reduced the basic and compensatory awards by 50% for contribution. The judgment states a final award of £5,961.41 net, with the prescribed element set at £4,111.42 and the recoupment regulations applying.