Amending a claim

Case 6: The facts

After 24 years’ service, Mr Traynor was dismissed for failing to meet the required standard in a job that he had been doing for three years. He brought an unfair dismissal claim, stating in his claim form that his performance had never previously been raised as an issue and that he had not been given the opportunity to improve it.

At the tribunal hearing, part of Traynor’s cross-examination concerned the fairness of its investigatory and disciplinary proceedings. The employer argued that Traynor should not have been allowed to raise the fairness of the disciplinary procedure as an issue in the hearing, because it had not formed part of his claim.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal agreed with the employer that Traynor had not mentioned procedural unfairness as part of his claim – he had claimed only that his dismissal was unreasonable. The tribunal should therefore have treated the claim of procedural unfairness as an amendment to the original claim.