Member W Canning Tribunal Member A Shanahan Mr Ronald Keir v Securitas Security Services (UK) Limited — 2021

The claimant was dismissed after the respondent concluded that he had committed gross misconduct by accessing Aviva CCTV footage without authority and recording it on his mobile phone. The disciplinary decision also referred to alleged non-work use of a customer computer, but the appeal officer dismissed that allegation and upheld dismissal on the CCTV recording issue. The Tribunal found that conduct was the sole and genuine reason for dismissal.

The Tribunal noted shortcomings in the respondent's handling of earlier bullying allegations and in aspects of the disciplinary process, including the absence of some written records, delay in sending the suspension letter, and some lack of clarity between GDPR issues and the CCTV Code of Practice. However, it found that the respondent had a reasonable belief, based on a reasonable investigation, that the claimant had committed gross misconduct, and that summary dismissal was within the band of reasonable responses.

On the whistleblowing claim, the Tribunal found that the claimant's January and July 2020 communications about alleged bullying did not amount to qualifying disclosures. It found that insufficient information had been disclosed and that the claimant did not have a reasonable belief that the matters were in the public interest. It further found that the dismissal resulted from the claimant's unauthorised recording of CCTV footage, not from any alleged protected disclosure.