Law queries

* Recently there was a fight at work. We know that there is a rule that says employees will be dismissed for fighting but feel that the way it happened was unfair. Although both employees were dismissed one has been working here for many years. We feel he should have been treated more leniently and should not have been given the same penalty as the other employee.

Where there is a disciplinary rule that says fighting will be a dismissable offence employers will be within their rights to act on it, provided that a proper investigation has taken place. While it may seem harsh that both employees have been treated the same, the fact that one employee's conduct appears to you to be worse than the other does not mean that both cannot face dismissal if the employer reasonably believes that even the lesser conduct deserves dismissal.

More information: Meakin v Liverpool City Council 142/00