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United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal >> Roberts v Carlin [2010] UKEAT 0183_09_1712 (17 December 2010) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2010/0183_09_1712.html Cite as: [2010] UKEAT 0183_09_1712, [2010] UKEAT 183_9_1712 |
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At the Tribunal | |
On 25 November 2010 | |
Before
HIS HONOUR JUDGE PETER CLARK
MRS A GALLICO
MR H SINGH
APPELLANT | |
RESPONDENT |
Transcript of Proceedings
JUDGMENT
For the Appellant | MR MATTHEW DORS (of Counsel) Instructed by: Messrs C Nicholls Solicitors 71 Fore Street Bodmin Cornwall PL31 2JB |
For the Respondent | MR JAMES PALMER (of Counsel) Instructed by: Messrs Ralph & Co Solicitors 20 Cliff Road Newquay Cornwall TR7 1SG |
SUMMARY
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Bias, misconduct and procedural irregularity
Appellate jurisdiction/reasons/Burns-Barke
Perversity
Appearance of bias – relevance of statutory DDP non-compliance to a SDA pregnancy complaint – Meek compliance – perversity. Appeal allowed on Meek ground only and remitted to fresh Employment Tribunal for re-hearing.
HIS HONOUR JUDGE PETER CLARK
Background
"18. On 5 January, the Claimant was with her partner in the yard alongside the Respondent's premises. She and her partner had been living in a caravan owned by the Respondent on those premises, in an effort to improve her attendance. The Claimant, on seeing the Respondent and having just discovered that she was pregnant, so informed the Respondent. For reasons that are unclear, the quality of the discussion deteriorated and the Respondent stormed off. The Claimant asserts that the Respondent said to her that she would never work with Bobby again. The Respondent denied saying any such thing. The fact is, however, that she never returned to work for the Respondent because a very short time later Ms Perring telephoned to the Claimant and informed her that she was suspended. No reason was given for the suspension.
19. The Respondent then sought advice of the Local Authority Social Services Department and her solicitors. Consequent upon the advice that she received and her instructions to her solicitors, her solicitors wrote a letter to the Claimant on 8 January terminating her employment: it gave no reason for the termination. It also evicted her and her partner from the caravan."
The Employment Tribunal decision
"20. Those are the facts. We directed ourselves to consider those facts in the following way. We are firstly to consider the evidence of the Claimant and decide whether or not there are facts which, in the absence of an explanation from the Respondent amount to a potential act of discrimination the grounds of the Claimant's sex. We are then to consider the Respondent's explanation for the events and decide whether or not, on the balance of probabilities, the explanation is sufficient to displace the potential discrimination."
"26. We do not find that the Respondent had decided to dismiss her on 24 December 2007. We are satisfied that at that date the Respondent had concluded that she would do something; but, in view of the nature of the misconduct we are satisfied that the decision to dismiss had not been made because the Claimant continued to work until the 5 January 2008. On the facts as we find them, there would have been no reason at all why the Respondent could not have dismissed the Claimant for gross misconduct on the 24 December; such dismissal would have been within the Claimant's 12 months qualifying employment and she would had no consequential claim to the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal. One of the reasons for our conclusion in this respect is that she was taking advice the Local Authority Social Services Department at this time."
The appeal
Bias
Misapplication of the law
Meek-compliance
Perversity
Disposal