Initially, the Employment Tribunal (ET) upheld Mr Mohammed’s claims for discrimination arising from disability and unfair dismissal against ummins Limited. The claims arose from Mr Mohamed going away to Pakistan during a period when Cummins had instigated disciplinary proceedings against him. Mr Mohamed was dismissed in his absence.
Cummins appealed against the ET’s decision. Some of the grounds of appeal (among others) were that the ET had not properly determined the reason for dismissal, it substituted its own decision for that of the employer and failed to determine the specific nature of the misconduct Cummins found Mr Mohammed was guilty of and whether it was reasonable to consider this misconduct.
The decision of the EAT can be found here Cummins Ltd v Mr W Mohammed UKEAT/0039/20/OO . The EAT upheld the appeal and remitted the case to be reheard by a new tribunal.
This case serves as a reminder that the Employment Tribunal should assess the decision maker’s reason for dismissing an employee and not make assumptions about this. Employers are well advised to keep a clear audit trail as to what leads to such decisions being made.
Astons Solicitors
7th June 2021