An employment tribunal found that a golf club fairly dismissed an employee for excessive personal internet use during working hours, despite the fact that it did not have a formal policy on staff use of the internet.
A family-run business made the classic mistake of having one person act as "judge, jury and executioner" in a disciplinary procedure against an employee accused of misconduct.
In this case, the employment tribunal found that an employee who breached her employer's inducements, gifts and favours policy was fairly dismissed. The case is a good example of circumstances that might be covered by the Bribery Act 2010 when it comes into force in April 2011.
An employee's workplace prank can undermine the employer's trust and confidence in him or her, and warrant summary dismissal, as this case demonstrates.
In Pinto v Gloucestershire NHS Primary Care Trust EAT/0351/09, the EAT held that an employer acted reasonably in dismissing an employee for gross misconduct after she agreed that a final written warning should be set aside, and the allegations that led to it considered in a fresh disciplinary hearing, together with a number of new allegations of misconduct.