Despite the latest ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary procedures being in place since March 2015, employers are still failing to properly deal with disciplinary investigations, with costly consequences which are easily avoidable.
The Claimant, a university lecturer, was accused of sending aggressive messages to colleagues, including telling one that leaving his job would be the best thing that could happen to the halls of residence. In another group chat, he aggressively told another colleague “Why don’t you listen?????”.
The tribunal found there had not been so much as the “beginning of an investigation” into a number of allegations and upheld his claim for unfair dismissal. However, his damages were reduced by 25% holding that his “blunt” communications contributed to his dismissal.