The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has affirmed that an employee who makes up, or exaggerates the effects of, an injury or illness to take fraudulent sick leave is fundamentally breaching the implied term of trust and confidence and can be dismissed for misconduct.
This first-instance tribunal decision shows that a series of incidents in which an employee is warned for verbally abusing colleagues can combine to lead to a fair dismissal, even if taken individually the incidents do not justify dismissal.
The dismissal of an immigration officer for taking a bribe was held to be fair by the employment tribunal. The employer was entitled to conclude that the honesty and integrity of the employee, who performed an important public function, was in doubt because she did not immediately report the bribe.
In Adeshina v St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2015] IRLR 704 EAT, the EAT held that flaws in disciplinary proceedings leading to a dismissal were remedied by the appeal process, and that the dismissal was fair.
In a reminder for employers of the dangers of Christmas parties, the employment tribunal in this case held that two zookeepers who got into a fight at London Zoo's Christmas party should have received the same disciplinary sanction.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has found a dismissal was fair even though another employee involved in the misconduct at a work event received a more lenient sanction. Key differences justified the disparity of treatment.
An unfair dismissal tribunal case has illustrated a model response from an employer faced with a client's refusal to have an employee back on its site.