This case relates to the statutory dismissal procedure and so will be of note in Northern Ireland where it continues to apply and to any remaining cases in the English system. The respondent school dismissed the claimant claiming that he had become unable to work with his colleagues, was affecting the morale of the school and that there had been an irreparable breakdown in the employment relationship.

The Employment Tribunal found that this dismissal had been for “some other substantial reason”, and had been both procedurally and substantively unfair. The Tribunal did not consider whether the compensation payable to Mr Lund should have been uplifted under Section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 for failure to follow the disciplinary procedure. Mr Lund asked the Tribunal to review its decision and it contended that the uplift did not apply as this dismissal had been for some other substantial reason.

On appeal the EAT found that as the disciplinary procedure ought to have been invoked an uplift should have been considered regardless of the reason for the dismissal. It also stated questioned whether the dismissal should have been properly characterised as a dismissal relating to conduct rather than for some other substantial reason.

The EAT also found that the claimant’s pension loss had to be recalculated as the Tribunal had awarded the amount equal to the Respondent’s contribution to his pension fund for a year, rather than an amount based on his chances of finding alternative employment which is pensionable. http://bit.ly/11ITxXp