Vaultex UK Ltd v Bialas [2024]
Decision Number: EAT 19 Legal Body: Employment Appeal Tribunal (England & Wales)
Published on: 05/03/2024
Issues Covered:
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Jason Elliott BL Barrister & Associate Head of School of Law, Ulster University
Jason Elliott BL Barrister & Associate Head of School of Law, Ulster University
Jason elliott new
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Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University.  As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation. This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal.   At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Claimant/Respondent on Appeal:
Robert Bialas
Respondent/Appellant on Appeal:
Vaultex UK Ltd
Summary

Appeal allowed citing that the Tribunal had substituted its own decision instead of looking at the band of reasonable responses. This was despite the Tribunal noting the band of reasonable responses test in the judgment.

Background

The claimant was employed as a Super Operator/Coin Processor by the respondent, a cash processing company.    The claimant was dismissed in October 2021 for the reason of misconduct.  The respondent stated that it takes equality, diversity and inclusion very seriously and pointed to its policy stating that there could be harassment even if they were not a target and that someone overhearing insensitive jokes may be offended.  It further notes that in such a situation it could lead to disciplinary action. 

The claimant

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 05/03/2024