Sam Brown, Advo HR Consultant, inspired by a recent tribunal and its impact on businesses, looks at why businesses MUST be through and fair in their approach.

It’s obvious or is it! A recent Tribunal case (Ms M Jones v Vale Curtains and Blinds) has highlighted the need for an investigation of any kind to be thorough and fair. To summarise the scenario briefly, an employee had written an email to a colleague and within the email, used rather defamatory language and insulted a  customer. Unfortunately, the employee sent the email directly to the customer, rather than internally to her colleague!

The wife of the customer who was insulted, phoned and spoke directly to the employee who made the mistake. The employee apologised and put the customer’s wife in touch with the manager as she demanded.

The customer’s wife insisted that their items were complimentary and threatened to publicise the incident both on social media and via the press. The employer then offered the customer £500 as a gesture of goodwill and explained that the incident would be investigated, and the employee would be reprimanded. A week later the employee was dismissed for gross misconduct. It later came to light that the Managing Director instructed the manager to “get rid” of the employee.

The employee was awarded £5,485 at an Employment Tribunal because her employer did not follow a fair and through disciplinary process. The Employment Judge Akua Reindorf KC said: “The disciplinary process and the dismissal were a sham designed to placate the customer.” as they attempted to avoid the negative publicity.

So, even where an employee’s conduct has resulted in the loss of custom and potential damage to the
business, the crux of the matter was that during the investigation process the employee and the customer were not spoken to. There were no notes of any meetings and there was no written outcome or documentation regarding the decision to dismiss.

A reasonable investigation is always required and if it is decided that there is a disciplinary case to answer, the employee should be notified of this in writing. This notification should contain sufficient information about the alleged misconduct and its possible consequences to enable the employee to prepare to answer the case at a disciplinary meeting.

At the disciplinary hearing the employer should explain the complaint against the employee and go through the evidence that has been gathered. The employee should be allowed to set out their case and answer any allegations that have been made.

Furthermore, a disciplinary process cannot be deemed fair if their intention in this case was to dismiss the employee. a dismissal of any kind should always be the last resort and not a knee-jerk reaction to whatever may have led up to that moment.

This case clearly shows the inherent risk in not following a fair procedure. The employee was awarded a sum of £5,485 which may not seem a huge amount. However, there would have been legal fees, management time and potential damage to brand reputation, thus custom, incurred by the employer!

Please contact Advo should you need any support and guidance on investigations and disciplinary matters.