Miss S Ketterer v Represented by: Ms. R Wark, Solicitor Greater Glasgow Health Board — 2022

Miss S Ketterer worked for Greater Glasgow Health Board as a nurse at HMP Low Moss from 1 April 2019 until her employment ended on 11 December 2020. The tribunal set out that the dismissal arose from allegations relating to an alleged inappropriate relationship with a prisoner and an incident on 3 October 2019 when medication was found on her person after a break. The respondent relied on SPS intelligence, a disclosure reported by Dr C Ogilvie, and Vision records showing repeated access to Patient A’s records. It also accepted that there was no evidence supporting the allegation that the claimant had brought contraband into the prison, and allegation 2 about medication handling was not said on its own to justify dismissal.

The tribunal found that misconduct was a potentially fair reason for dismissal under section 98(2)(b) ERA 1996. Applying the Burchell approach, it held that the dismissing and appeal managers genuinely believed the claimant had committed serious misconduct, that there were reasonable grounds for that belief, and that the respondent had carried out as much investigation as was reasonable in the circumstances. The tribunal noted the management case report, the nine appendices, the interviews carried out, and the material available to the claimant before the disciplinary hearing. It accepted that the delay in progressing the matter was lengthy, but found the respondent had credible explanations, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the SPS investigation, and difficulties arranging interviews and gathering material.

On procedure, the tribunal found that the claimant had a fair opportunity to consider and respond to the allegations, that she was given the investigation report in advance of the disciplinary hearing, and that she had a right of appeal. It did not find a breach of the ACAS Code of Practice. The tribunal also accepted that the respondent had taken account of the claimant’s mitigation, but concluded that the dismissal still fell within the band of reasonable responses. It therefore held that the dismissal was fair in all the circumstances under section 98(4) ERA 1996 and dismissed the unfair dismissal claim in full.