Jacob Neat v J D Weatherspoon plc — 2025

The Claimant, a Shift Manager at the Red Lion, Petersfield, was summarily dismissed on 20 February 2024 for gross misconduct after two incidents in which he was found to have incorrectly processed staff discount at 50%. He brought a sole claim of unfair dismissal, which was heard by Employment Judge Winfield sitting alone over two days in April 2025.

Applying the Burchell test and s.98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Tribunal found that the Respondent held a genuine belief in the misconduct, on reasonable grounds, following a reasonable investigation. The 50% staff discount policy and the consequences of breaching it had been clearly communicated through the Management Action Pack issued to managers, and the alleged conduct fell within the disciplinary policy. The Tribunal considered the Claimant's five years of service and clean disciplinary record but agreed with the Respondent that these did not outweigh the severity of two separate breaches, and rejected the suggestion of inconsistent treatment by reference to the Jason Brown incident, finding the cases were not truly parallel.

The Tribunal concluded that the procedure was fair and in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice, and that the sanction of dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses open to a reasonable employer. The complaint of unfair dismissal was held not to be well founded and was dismissed.