Reasonableness of dismissal

Case 7: The facts

Mr Mainwaring was off work with a recurrence of a long-standing back condition. He was regularly seeing his employer’s occupational health advisor, and his condition was improving to the extent that the advisor thought he would soon be able to return to light duties.

Mainwaring’s employer then obtained video evidence, as a result of an anonymous tip-off, which showed him lifting shopping in and out of a car and walking along a street. The employer concluded that this was inconsistent with his claim that he was unfit to work, and dismissed him for misconduct.

A tribunal found that Mainwaring’s dismissal was unfair, and the employer appealed.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) overruled the tribunal’s decision. Contrary to the tribunal’s findings, the EAT said there was no reason why the employer needed to get a statement from the anonymous informant, as the decision to dismiss was not based on any evidence provided by him. Neither did the employer suspend Mainwaring as soon as it had received the tip-off, as the tribunal had indicated; it had investigated the claim first, and obtained a medical opinion. Finally, the EAT said, there was no need for the employer to obtain medical evidence from a consultant when it had evidence from an independent occupational health advisor who already knew Mainwaring’s case.

The case was sent to a fresh tribunal for a re-hearing.

Corus UK Ltd v Mainwaring UKEAT/0053/07