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MBNA Limited v Jones
This case involved two employees; Mr Jones and Mr Battersby. Both employees were asked to attend a corporate social event and were warned that normal standards of behaviour and conduct would apply. Ignoring these instructions, the two employees began drinking heavily and had a disagreement, which resulted in Mr Jones punching Mr Battersby in the face. After the incident, Mr Battersby sent numerous texts to Mr Jones, threatening violence against him. Both employees were called to disciplinary hearings. The outcome was that Mr Jones was dismissed for his behaviour, however Mr Battersby was only given a final written warning. Mr Jones claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed and lodged a claim against his employers.
The employment tribunal found that Mr Jones’s dismissal was unfair because of the inconsistency of treatment between the two employees. On appeal, however, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) overturned this decision and concluded that Mr Jones had been fairly dismissed. The EAT held that the Employment Judge had not applied the correct test which required recognising that there may be a range of reasonable ways in which an employer may react to the circumstances which gave rise to the dismissal. In particular, the EAT considered that the Employment Judge had failed to address whether there was a decision made in truly parallel circumstances which made it unreasonable for the employer to dismiss the employee and highlighted that if he had done so, he would have been bound to recognise key differences between the two cases.
In Practice
Paul Burton Associate in the Employment Team adds, "This is an interesting case that highlights that inconsistent treatment will not necessarily make a dismissal unfair. It serves as a reminder to employers that they must consider and assess all of the circumstances before sanctioning employees for similar misconduct. Whilst this case recognises that it is rare for a truly parallel situation to arise, employers must be able to explain their reasoning for any disparity of treatment."
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.
