Accusations and dismissal letters
Written notice
In K v L 2020 the employee was a long-serving teacher with a clean disciplinary record. In December 2016 the police seized his personal computer based on intelligence that indecent images had been downloaded onto it.
Although the employee was the subject of a full criminal investigation, he was not prosecuted because the police could not establish who exactly was responsible for downloading the indecent images.
Employer’s investigation
Because of his position and the fact that he worked with children, the employer commenced its own disciplinary proceedings and invited the employee to attend a disciplinary hearing.
The employer’s disciplinary hearing notice stated that the reason for the disciplinary hearing was due to the employee’s misconduct, namely him being “the subject of a police investigation into illegal material” and the “relevance of this to his role” as a teacher.
Employee’s defence
During the disciplinary hearing, the employee fully acknowledged that indecent images had been found on his personal computer but explained that he did not know how they got there.
He categorically denied any involvement in the matter and explained that he shared his house with his son who regularly had friends at the property. He suggested that one of them might have been responsible.
Irretrievable breakdown
The employer decided there was insufficient evidence to show that the employee had downloaded the indecent images. Nevertheless, it still decided to dismiss him.
The reason given for the dismissal was “some other substantial reason” because the employer was “unable to exclude the possibility” that the employee had downloaded the images. It further claimed that this had “resulted in an irretrievable breakdown of trust and confidence” and “was a serious risk to its reputation” .
Unfair dismissal claim
The employee claimed unfair dismissal and the matter ended up in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. It noted that the employer’s disciplinary notice referred to a defined misconduct, whereas its dismissal letter referred to matters that had never been put as allegations to the employee.
As the two letters did not match, and the employee had been dismissed for matters he was not ever accused of or able to defend, his dismissal was procedurally unfair (see The next step ).
Tip. A notification of disciplinary hearing and a dismissal letter must match; the two documents can’t be totally different or just quite similar (see The next step ). A thorough investigation will usually identify all the issues that could potentially result in the employee’s dismissal.
For the EAT’s ruling in this case, a notification of disciplinary hearing and a misconduct checklist, visit https://www.tips-and-advice.co.uk , Download Zone, year 22, issue 17.
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