Robert Bennett v Anderstore Ltd Heard: in Leeds on 11 and 12 December 2025 — 2025

Reserved judgment of a one-judge hearing at Leeds. The claimant was employed as a Senior Fire Extinguisher Sales and Service Engineer from March 2016 to 6 March 2024 when he was dismissed for gross misconduct following an incident on 9 February 2024. The tribunal viewed CCTV footage of the incident and listened to an extract of the disciplinary hearing recording.

The tribunal found the claimant had attended a customer's premises in a company-branded van and clothing, parked in a non-designated area, and following a verbal altercation with another driver, had repeatedly punched and kicked the man. The respondent was entitled to conclude that the claimant had brought himself and the company into disrepute and engaged in physical assault while representing the company. The tribunal noted the claimant showed no remorse, took no accountability and gave no reassurance that he would not act in the same way again. Dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses (s.98(4) ERA 1996).

On the commission claim for February 2024 (pursued as both unauthorised deductions and breach of contract), the tribunal found the commission scheme rules in the Service Engineers' Handbook clearly conditioned eligibility on not being found guilty of any disciplinary offence and entitled the respondent to withhold payment pending disciplinary proceedings; the gross misconduct finding meant the claimant had forfeited entitlement to commission. Both commission claims failed. The NMW and mobile phone deduction claims were dismissed on withdrawal after the respondent made payments during the proceedings.