E.T. Z (WR) EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 4107082/2019 Held in Glasgow on 28, and October 2019 Employment Judge W A Meiklejohn Mr C Devlin v Represented by: Mr R Wood - Trade Union Representative British Telecommunications plc — 2019

The claimant, Mr C Devlin, had been employed by British Telecommunications plc since 10 February 1997 and was dismissed with notice taking effect on 8 March 2019 from his role as a Business Development Manager. The tribunal found that the respondent had dismissed him for capability reasons, namely his failure to meet the performance standard set for his SOV GM sales target, after a period of coaching, formal warnings and appeal hearings under the respondent’s Improving Performance procedure.

The tribunal accepted that the relevant minimum standard for the role was 80% year-to-date achievement, not 70%, and preferred the evidence and documents supporting that position. It found that the claimant’s performance remained below that standard throughout the relevant process, although it did improve from 36% to 67.64% during the second action plan. The tribunal also found that the respondent had followed its performance management procedure, provided coaching and support, and honestly believed that the claimant was not meeting the required standard.

Applying section 98(4) ERA 1996 and the band of reasonable responses approach, the tribunal held that the decision to dismiss fell within the range of reasonable responses open to the respondent. It noted factors pointing both ways: in the claimant’s favour, his 22 years’ service and the limited steps taken to explore alternative employment; in the respondent’s favour, his repeated failure to meet target, previous performance management history, and concerns about his pipeline of opportunities. The tribunal considered that, although more could have been done on length of service and alternative roles, those matters did not outweigh the factors supporting dismissal. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed and no award was made.