Mr A Gholami Nick v Impera Italia Ltd — 2026

Mr A Gholami Nick's unfair dismissal claim succeeded. Impera Italia Ltd dismissed him without notice on 10 April 2025 for alleged gross misconduct concerning a website and social-media accounts which appeared to promote a business competing with the respondent. Applying section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell, the Tribunal found that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant guilty of misconduct and had reasonable grounds for that belief on the information available. It also found that the claimant had sufficient opportunity to respond in writing and that refusing his request, made on the morning of the rearranged hearing, for a virtual disciplinary meeting was not unfair.

The dismissal was nevertheless unfair because the respondent did not offer a right of appeal. Applying Taylor v OCS Group Ltd, the Tribunal assessed the disciplinary process as a whole and found that an appeal could have enabled the respondent to obtain evidence or a response from the claimant. The claimant received a basic award of £2,134.61 and £500 for loss of statutory rights. He did not claim compensation for loss of earnings because he found another job immediately.

The wrongful dismissal claim also succeeded. On the fuller evidence before it, the Tribunal found on the balance of probabilities that the claimant was not intending to establish a competing business, but intended to provide services and source products from the respondent. It found that the public-facing wall images were not confidential information and that the claimant had not breached the confidentiality agreement; it also found the relied-upon non-compete provisions invalid because of their scope and duration. The claimant therefore had not committed gross misconduct or another contractual breach justifying summary dismissal. The formal judgment awarded £2,134.62 as three weeks' notice pay, although paragraph 56 of the reasons records £2,134.61.