Claimant v Secretary of State for Justice

The tribunal found the dismissal was both substantively and procedurally fair. The claimant had locked a colleague in a portacabin office whilst upset, said 'I don't want to lose my shit with you', and caused her to feel genuinely threatened. Combined with a live final written warning, dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses. The investigation was reasonable and the disciplinary process fair.

The tribunal found the claimant's conduct on 12 April 2021, taken together with the prior final written warning, constituted gross misconduct amounting to fundamental breach of contract. The respondent was therefore entitled to summarily dismiss without notice pay.

The tribunal found the alleged comparators (Rachel Daly and Officer Harvey) were not appropriate comparators under s23 EqA due to material differences in circumstances. Even considering a hypothetical comparator, there was no evidence from which the tribunal could conclude sex discrimination. Any differences in treatment were due to differences in status (victim vs accused) or individual circumstances, not sex.

The tribunal found the respondent owed the claimant 116.7 hours of outstanding pay (98.7 hours annual leave plus 18 hours TOIL) as documented on form SOPHR177 dated 11 May 2022. The respondent provided no evidence these sums had been paid, and the claimant confirmed he received no pay after December 2021.