Was there a dismissal?

Case 12: The facts

Teacher Mrs Mehra was disciplined for gross misconduct on grounds of her possession and labelling of resource materials, and her making false allegations and damaging statements against the school and its staff. A letter from the school confirmed that the outcome of the meeting was that Mehra was "due to be summarily dismissed" and gave her seven days to appeal.

Mehra brought a claim of unfair dismissal (alongside a claim of race discrimination, which was rejected). But the tribunal found that the letter was not a letter of dismissal, as it gave no date of termination; therefore, it said, it could not hear Mehra's claim because it had been presented before she had received the outcome of her appeal confirming her dismissal.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the only conclusion that could be drawn from the letter was that Mehra was summarily dismissed at the hearing, and that the letter was simply to confirm that dismissal. It suggested that the tribunal could have allowed Mehra to issue a fresh tribunal claim, which would have resolved the problem of jurisdiction. The case was sent back to the same tribunal for a finding on the unfair dismissal.

Mehra v Governing Body of Marlborough Road Primary School & others EAT/0374/06