Employers faced with an employee who has been convicted of a criminal offence outside work must look at all the circumstances and still follow their usual disciplinary procedure before making a decision to dismiss, as this tribunal judgment shows.
In Wood v Caledon Social Club Ltd and another EAT/0528/09, the EAT held that a TUPE transfer arose even though the business had temporarily ceased operating at the time of the transfer.
This case is a reminder to employers of the dangers of making fundamental changes to an employee's job when attempting to cut costs during a business downturn.
In this case, an employment tribunal held that the heavy-handed way in which a manager dealt with suspected unauthorised absence entitled the employee to resign and claim unfair dismissal.
The employer in this case attempted to recoup commission from an employee, but had removed the clause in his contract of employment that entitled it to make deductions from his wages, leading to the employee's constructive dismissal.
The industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland has awarded over £40,000 for unfair dismissal to an employee who resigned after his employer breached his contract of employment on numerous occasions.