Frettens Banner Image

Blog

Services
People
News and Events
Other
Blogs

Unfair Dismissal: Allegations of Bad Faith

  • Posted

Secretary of State for Justice v Lown

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has found that, in an unfair dismissal case where allegations of bad faith are crucial to the employment tribunal's reasoning, the allegations must be put to a dismissing officer. In this case, the Claimant was dismissed following an allegation that he had assaulted a prisoner during a planned intervention. The employment tribunal held that the dismissing officer had acted in bad faith and did not have a genuine belief in the Claimant's misconduct. However, that issue was not put to the dismissing officer during cross-examination or by the tribunal.

The EAT upheld the appeal and confirmed that "the Respondent should have been given the proper opportunity to deal with the case”. It was decided that the employment tribunal had failed to consider whether the Respondent's conduct fell within the band of reasonable responses, substituting instead "the only correct standard of what the reasonable employer would have done." The EAT also found that the employment tribunal should have considered whether a reduction in compensation was appropriate when there was "a finding of substantive unfair dismissal”

In Practice

Paul Burton an Associate in our Employment team explains, "It is clear from the EAT’s decision that the procedural error had rendered the employment tribunal’s decision unsafe. This case highlights the importance of correct procedure in the employment tribunal as well as in the workplace."

Our Employment Team, based in Christchurch, also cover Bournemouth, Poole and the New Forest. For a free initial chat, please call 01202 499255 and Paul or a member of the team will be happy to discuss any questions that you may have.

The content of this article, blog or video is not intended as specific legal advice. For tailored assistance, please contact a member of our team.

Comments

    home