An adequate investigation and a fair system of warnings are key to the successful defence of an unfair dismissal claim related to misconduct, as this case shows.
The High Court has held that a college was liable to a former employee for negligent misstatement when, six years after his departure, it sent a derogatory email to his new employer that led to his dismissal.
In this unusual case, an employee was dismissed and offered reinstatement on appeal, before purportedly resigning due to the terms of the reinstatement.
The Court of Appeal has held that an employee's contract of employment was terminated by the transfer of pay in lieu of notice into his bank account, even though he did not know at the time that this had happened.
The employment tribunal in this case found that comments from two managers in capability meetings, suggesting that an underperforming older worker might consider early retirement, constituted age discrimination.