EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case no: 8000808/2024 Held at Edinburgh on 7, and October 2024 Employment Judge W A Meiklejohn v Dr Xiaoyang Wu — 2024

The claimant, Dr Xiaoyang Wu, brought a single claim of unfair dismissal. The respondent accepted that he had been dismissed but contended that the reason was gross misconduct. The tribunal identified three strands of conduct: the sending of “Loving You” emails and associated parcel to a colleague, the claimant’s initial untruthful account that someone was impersonating him by using a personal email address, and the failure to follow the respondent’s publication procedure before external publication.

The tribunal accepted that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant was guilty of misconduct. It relied on Ms Starcher’s complaint, the claimant’s admissions that he sent the initial and later emails, his later admission that he had been untruthful about the email address, and his acceptance that he had not followed the publication process. Applying Burchell, the tribunal held that the respondent had reasonable grounds for that belief and had carried out as much investigation as was reasonable in the circumstances.

The tribunal also considered whether the respondent should have investigated more fully whether the claimant’s behaviour was linked to mental health. It accepted that, with hindsight, the claimant’s conduct may have reflected an impaired mental state, but held that the respondent’s enquiries about personal issues and welfare were sufficient, and that it was not unreasonable to accept the claimant’s answers at the time. The tribunal held that the disciplinary process was fair, that the ACAS Code steps were followed, and that dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses under section 98(4) ERA 1996. The complaint of unfair dismissal was therefore dismissed and no monetary award was made.