Reasonable investigation

Case 11: The facts

Mrs Holland, a kitchen assistant for six years, was dismissed for grabbing a young employee's T-shirt; she said the employee was "rather cheeky" and had been rude to her. She was reinstated, but dismissed again following a further hearing.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that there had been a reasonable investigation into the incident, and the employer had taken into account the provocation and Holland's length of service. It expressed sympathy for her, but said it could not reverse the tribunal's decision that she had been fairly dismissed - to do so would be to substitute its own view, which it was not entitled to do.

Holland v BHS UKEAT/0224/04