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Case Review: Dismissal after the Christmas Party – Fair or Unfair?

‘Tis the season of the works Christmas Party, but employers and employees should be wary of things getting out of hand, as such get-togethers, often fuelled by alcohol, can bring risks. Two recent cases highlight the dangers inherent in the classic Christmas party. In the case of Gimson v Display by Design, in December 2011, … Read more

Unfair Dismissal and the Human Rights Proportionality Test

In a recent test case the Court of Appeal was asked whether the European Convention of Human Rights’ proportionality test applied to cases of Unfair Dismissal (Turner v East Midlands Trains Limited). A female train conductor with 12 years’ service was accused of fraud, and her claim for unfair dismissal was rejected by an Employment … Read more

Why is reinstatement after unfair dismissal so rare?

One of the options pursuant to an unfair dismissal claim is reinstatement or re-engagement of the claimant within the company. In the period 2011-2012, only 5 orders for reinstatement or re-engagement were given by employment tribunals. Re-engagement might work well in a large limited company or plc, which has a number of separate and diversified … Read more

Osborne: “Give up your employee rights and own a slice of the company”

George Osborne resurrected controversial plans to dilute workers’ rights by announcing at the Conservative Party Conference that employees can give up some of their legal rights at work in return for shares in the company. Already being called “Beecroft by the back door”, referring to the divisive report on employment legislation by venture capitalist and … Read more

Case Review: Woman wrongly accused of watching porn at work wins ÂŁ20k unfair dismissal case

A married churchgoing mother, 50, has won a ÂŁ20,000 unfair dismissal claim after she was wrongfully accused of watching pornographic material whilst at work. Mrs Buckley had worked as a Finance Manager for a dental laboratory in Oldham, Lancashire for 10 years, but in 2010 was questioned on why she has been looking at hardcore … Read more

Case Review: Little Chef employee claimed unfair dismissal after stealing pie

A former employee of the restaurant chain Little Chef with 12 years’ service has lost her claim for unfair dismissal after she took home an apple pie without permission. Lynn Smith had been employed as a supervisor, but lost her job when she broke the company’s rules on taking produce home, the Employment Tribunal in … Read more

Case Review: Range of Reasonable Responses Test

We recently won an unfair dismissal case in Leicester, the facts of which, when said out loud, seem somewhat incredible. Tom Street of Do I Have A Case discusses the case, and the appropriate legal tests, in this video. An employee with 22 years’ service with his employer was sacked for gross misconduct after he … Read more

Case Review: Driver of multi-millionaire wins claim for unfair dismissal

In what has become known as the “give a dog a bone” employment case, Ivor James, aged 60, was a driver for multi-millionaire Raymond Mould in Gloucestershire. Mr James was sacked during a 12-minute telephone call from his employer, after he fed a piece of gristle to Mr Mould’s Labrador. He was informed that a … Read more

Employers potentially responsible for Facebook comments made by their staff

Employees should be wary about their use of social media sites such as Facebook, following a recent decision by a tribunal in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Whilst this judgement is not binding on UK employment tribunals (as it was made by a Northern Ireland industrial tribunal) it is an interesting case and useful guidance for similar … Read more

Case Review: Sainsbury’s worker sacked for making quick dash to his car

A baker employed by Sainsbury’s in the West Midlands was sacked from his job after 11 years’ service, for leaving his post for less than two minutes. Sainsbury’s told an employment tribunal in Birmingham that Steven Tyler had left the store without permission, and that they had a strict policy about employees leaving the premises … Read more