In person For the v Respondent — 2026

The claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct after Instagram posts about a colleague were reported to the respondent. The tribunal considered the respondent's disciplinary process, the relevant policies, the claimant's explanations, and the respondent's conclusion that the posts amounted to threatening conduct and gross misconduct.

The tribunal found that the respondent's policies did not fairly or reasonably cover the claimant's conduct in the way relied on, and that the respondent could not reasonably have assumed the claimant was threatening violence. It concluded that the respondent acted unreasonably in treating the conduct as a sufficient reason for dismissal, so the unfair dismissal claim succeeded.

On contribution, the tribunal found the posts were blameworthy conduct and were unpleasant and likely, if not intended, to cause distress and anxiety to the colleague. It reduced both the basic award and compensatory award by 25%, but the provided extract does not give the resulting monetary figures.