Unfair dismissal
In Taylor-Hamieh v The Ritz Hotel Casino Ltd, an employment tribunal held that a redundancy exercise that effectively ruled a pregnant employee out of an available role in the Middle East was discriminatory. The tribunal's £50,121 award included £25,000 for injury to feelings.
In Aramark (UK) Ltd v Fernandes, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the employer's failure to put a redundant employee on a list of bank workers was not unreasonable, within the meaning of s.98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
In K v L, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a school teacher's dismissal for possessing indecent images of children was unfair because the employer had not cited reputational damage as a potential ground for dismissal.
In Tai Tarian Ltd v Christie, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the tribunal had erred in its approach to fairness when it found the carpenter had been unfairly dismissed following a complaint made against him by a tenant who requested anonymity.
In Sinelnikova v ActivTrades plc, an employment tribunal upheld a compliance officer's claims of unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and victimisation after finding that she had been subjected to "concerted and malicious" action by her employer.
In Gwynedd Council v Barratt and another, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the dismissal of two teachers who were required to apply for their own jobs following a reorganisation was unfair.
In Adenusi v London Underground Ltd, an employment tribunal held that the employee's dismissal for sexual harassment was unfair because the employer did not carry out a reasonable investigation.
Consultant editor Darren Newman looks at recent unfair dismissal cases, including Royal Mail Group Ltd v Jhuti, which concern the knowledge of the decision-maker and asks when the unreasonable conduct of another manager should be taken into account in deciding whether or not the decision to dismiss is fair.
In Uddin v London Borough of Ealing, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the investigating officer's failure to share a material fact with the decision-maker was relevant to the fairness of the dismissal.
In Kirk v Citibank NA and others, an employment tribunal held that a senior banker who was dismissed following a redundancy process was subjected to direct age discrimination and unfairly dismissed.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to unfair dismissal.