Capability dismissal

Case 1: The facts

Airline pilot Stephen Mathews lost his medical licence while on sick leave. He refused an offer to return to work on ground duties, and was dismissed. He later regained his medical licence, but by that time he had not flown for over a year and his employer said he still needed to undertake ground duties before he could return to his pilot's duties.

A tribunal found that Mathews had been fairly dismissed on grounds of capability.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the tribunal's decision. Although Mathews's medical licence had been returned before the appeal hearing, and the decision to dismiss had to be reviewed in light of this change to his circumstances, the employer was entitled to insist that he undertook some ground duties before he could be considered operationally fit for pilot duties.

Mathews v DHL Air Ltd UKEAT/0089/05