Mr S Carroll v Ltd (In Liquidation) — 2020

The claimant, a Site Manager, was dismissed for gross misconduct after the respondent concluded that 12.5mm plasterboard had been installed in lower ceilings where 15mm plasterboard was required. The tribunal found that the respondent had carried out as much investigation as was reasonable in the circumstances and had reasonable grounds to conclude that the error occurred because the claimant had not worked to the drawings and specification.

The tribunal rejected the contention that the respondent lacked reasonable grounds in relation to the plasterboard allegation, but found that the respondent had not followed a fair procedure. In particular, the claimant was not clearly told that the meeting on 10 April was a disciplinary hearing, was not notified in advance of the disciplinary charges, and was not told of the possible consequences of the disciplinary process.

The dismissal was therefore unfair. However, the tribunal found there was a 100% chance the claimant would still have been dismissed if a fair procedure had been followed, and that the claimant's conduct contributed to the dismissal by 100%. The compensatory award was reduced to nil under Polkey and contributory conduct, and the basic award was also reduced by 100%. The claimant's application for expenses in relation to document production was refused.