Ms Morna Gunn v Star International Enterprises Ltd — 2023

Ms Morna Gunn worked for Star International Enterprises Ltd as a weekend Animal Keeper from 10 March 2020 and transferred to the respondent when it bought Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre in April 2022. After a meeting on 25 June 2022 about team-working and her later start time, and a visit on 26 June 2022 by former colleague Shona Coutts, the respondent believed Ms Gunn had allowed a former staff member into restricted areas and into the feed barn and medical room. The tribunal also dealt with a time-limit point and held the claim was in time because the early conciliation period extended the limitation period under section 207B(3).

The respondent accepted that the dismissal was for conduct, namely a belief that Ms Gunn had committed gross misconduct, and Mr Matthews dismissed her on 27 August 2022. The tribunal found that belief was genuine, but held that the disciplinary investigation was not reasonable: no investigation report was prepared, written evidence was not disclosed to Ms Gunn in advance, and the hearing proceeded without a proper opportunity for her to meet the case against her. The tribunal also found that Mr Matthews pre-judged matters and that the way the hearing was conducted fell outside the band of reasonable responses.

On the factual dispute, the tribunal preferred the evidence of Ms Gunn and Ms Coutts over Mr Campbell on the central question whether they had been in the medicine room or beside an open filing cabinet with paperwork. It found that the mere presence of a former member of staff in back or staff-only areas was not, on the facts known at the time, something a reasonable employer would have treated as gross misconduct, particularly where the previous owners had allowed known former staff into such areas and no clear change in practice had been communicated. The appeal, decided by Ms Alexa Reid on 24 January 2023, did not cure the defects because the claimant was not given the fuller material gathered on appeal before the decision was taken.

For remedy, the tribunal accepted that Ms Gunn did not seek weekend work after dismissal and limited loss to three months on mitigation grounds. It rejected a deduction for contribution, held that a fair process could still have led to dismissal but that the Polkey point did not reduce the compensatory award in the circumstances, and awarded a basic award of £266 and a compensatory award of £1,722.12. It then applied a 10% uplift under the ACAS Code because of multiple unreasonable breaches, giving a total award of £2,186.93.