Unfair dismissal: Recent cases
Have you been fired from your job?
If you lost your job for an unfair reason, or your employer didn’t follow a fair process when they sacked you, you might have a claim for unfair dismissal.
These recent cases show what you might win.
Unfair dismissal: Case study 1
In 2023, Mrs Kayahan Kolan joined Marks & Spencer and had a week’s training at Brent Cross and Uxbridge. She then started work at the bakery in the Watford branch.
At interview, it had been agreed she wouldn’t have to lift anything heavier than 5kg because she has a back problem, but on the first two days, she was tasked with lifting heavy boxes.
She told her branch manager, Ms Bowie, that she couldn’t endure the physical strain and also that she was pregnant.
At that point, Kayahan was told there were no suitable jobs for her, that her English wasn’t good enough to work on the tills, and that she should hand in her swipe card.
She realised she’d been dismissed as a result of declaring her pregnancy, and made claims of automatic unfair dismissal and pregnancy and maternity discrimination at the employment tribunal.
The tribunal upheld her complaints, and compensation will be decided later.
Where her employer went wrong
The company should have:
- Discussed alternative roles
- Made reasonable adjustments
- Provided a formal termination letter
- Given her a notice period and right to appeal
Unfair dismissal: Case study 2
For 20 years, G Shields was a crane operator at Falcon Tower Crane Services.
In 2023, he was operating a crane on a site in Edinburgh that was being managed by contractor Collab Construction Ltd, when the jib of the crane collapsed. He suffered an injury to his shoulder and was taken to hospital.
Since then, Shields has developed a fear of heights. He experiences flashbacks and nightmares, and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He has not worked since the incident.
What happened
One day, Mr Shields heard an unusual noise when operating the crane but was not unduly concerned about it. When it started getting dark, he placed the crane in the out-of-service position.
The next day, he met the crane supervisor, Mr Waddle, and told him he’d need around 15 minutes to carry out checks before starting lifts.
As part of this, he climbed to the top platform, and didn’t see any damage to the crane. While there, he took a picture of Edinburgh Castle for his daughter.
It was on his third lift of the day that the jib collapsed.
What the company did
Falcon’s health and safety manager, Mr Rix, concluded that he’d gone to the third platform to inspect the damage he knew was there. Mr Rix didn’t ask Mr Shields to show him the photo as proof.
Falcon decided that he’d been aware of damage to the crane and conspired with his supervisor to go ahead and use it without reporting the damage.
On the other hand, Mr Shields knew that operating a damaged crane could risk his life as well as the other individuals on the site. If he’d seen any damage, he would have reported it, wouldn’t have operated the crane, and would have been paid while it was repaired.
What happened next
The company claimed they had followed a fair procedure and that he was dismissed due to misconduct. However, Mr Shields won his claim of unfair dismissal at the employment tribunal.
Judge Jones found that Falcon had not carried out a sufficient investigation, and had based their conclusions on conjecture and hypothesis. They didn’t even allow Mr Shields to comment or provide evidence.
His employer was ordered to pay him a basic award of £18,550 and a compensatory award of £10,665.68 net made up of notice pay of £10,165.68 and £500 for loss of statutory rights.
Unfair dismissal: Case study 3
In 2016, Jessica Thorpe joined the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust as a healthcare assistant. In 2018, she was promoted to nursing assistant, and in January 2020, she started a four-year nursing degree apprenticeship at Sunderland University, while she continued to work.
She was suspended in 2020 after a patient falsely claimed she was pregnant with his child.
There was a disciplinary hearing where the allegation of having an inappropriate relationship was not upheld, nevertheless, she was suspended for about two years.
Meanwhile, she got part-time work where she earned around £13,000, and became a social media influencer by posting lifestyle, food and clothing content on Instagram and YouTube.
In 2022, she was allowed to return to work at the trust, but resigned a month afterwards.
The outcome
She sued the Trust for constructive unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages, and breach of contract.
At the employment tribunal, she won all three counts. The judge ruled the Trust should pay her £23,534, including compensation for loss of earnings.
This was less than the £66,500 she would have earned including pension contributions had she stayed employed, and was reduced because she’d made £46,400 since leaving her job from her part-time work and social media activities.
The Trust said it was disappointed but would respect the findings and look at what lessons can be learned.
What this means to you
Every case is different. We are employment lawyers with offices in Northern Ireland and England. We only ever act for employees, never for employers.
If you’ve lost your job and you think it’s unfair, or your employer didn’t follow a fair process, give us a call.
We’ll let you know if you have a case and your chances of winning.
Related reading
For more information about unfair dismissal, please see our other articles on the subject. These include:
- Unfair dismissal: Strange cases
- Is my dismissal unfair?
- Reliable checklist to see if you’ve been unfairly dismissed
- Unfair dismissal: Is it too late for me to claim?
- Can I claim for unfair dismissal?
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