Mr Simmonds worked as a steward for a private members’ club. He was given a final written warning after he allowed his wife to drop in the club takings to the bank when he could not get parked nearby. He was then dismissed for misconduct following another incident where he gave employees a Christmas bonus of £15.00 in cash, instead of a bottle of wine to that value as instructed.

The Employment Tribunal considered the earlier warning when determining if the subsequent dismissal was fair. The Tribunal considered the circumstances of the previous warning as there was an argument that Mr Simonds had been unaware he was breaching procedure and no written guidance was in place. The majority considered