Member J McCullagh Tribunal Member AB Grant Mr W Debek v Bosch Rexroth Ltd Scotland — 2019

The claimant, a Polish national, started temporary employment as an Associate in the respondent's Assembly Department on 11 February 2019 after completing induction and training in the wash area. On 28 February 2019 he was challenged after damaged cylinder blocks reached the assembly line. The tribunal found that he became angry, refused to hand over his security pass and left the premises via a fire door. By letter dated 1 March 2019 the respondent summarily dismissed him for gross misconduct.

The claimant said he had been overworked, had no manual-handling training or risk assessment, suffered back pain and dizziness, and had been threatened by his team leader. He also said he had made a health and safety disclosure about the wash process. The tribunal found him not to be a particularly credible or reliable witness on those matters, found no evidence of a hospital attendance or injury, and accepted the respondent's evidence that no protected disclosure had been made to Mr Lamont before dismissal. It concluded that the reason for dismissal was the claimant's conduct on 28 February 2019 rather than any health and safety concern.

The Equality Act complaint was based on an alleged remark by an agency worker that the claimant was a 'Polish bastard'. The tribunal rejected that allegation on credibility grounds and because it had not been reported contemporaneously to management. It therefore dismissed both the race discrimination and harassment complaints. The tribunal noted, but did not need to decide, issues about the respondent's section 109 defence; it recorded some concerns about the coverage of policies, the induction process and the level of training, but those observations did not alter the outcome. No remedy was awarded.