Frivolous grievances dismissal was fair

The recent case of Hope v British Medical Association (BMA) looked at whether a dismissal for gross misconduct for raising vexatious grievances was fair.

The Claimant raised a number of grievances against senior managers.  He wanted to discuss the grievances informally with his line manager, but the line manager lacked the authority to resolve the grievances. 

The Claimant refused to attend a formal grievance meeting, to progress any of the grievances or to withdraw them.  The grievance meeting proceeded in his absence, although the Claimant had been informed that it was a reasonable instruction for him to attend.  The grievances were not upheld.

The BMA judged that the Claimant’s conduct of bringing vexatious and frivolous grievances and refusing to comply with the reasonable instruction to attend the meeting amounted to gross misconduct and he was dismissed after a disciplinary.

The Claimant’s unfair dismissal claim was rejected, and the dismissal was deemed to be fair on the basis that it was reasonable to conclude that the Claimant’s conduct was vexatious and unreasonable and that this amounted to gross misconduct.

The EAT dismissed the Claimant’s appeal that the tribunal had failed to consider whether the conduct was capable of amounting to gross misconduct under his employment contract or gross negligence. The EAT found that the question for the tribunal to consider was whether the employer had acted reasonably in treating the conduct as a sufficient reason to dismiss.  Whether the employee has breached their contract may be a relevant factor to consider but is only one of the circumstances to be taken into account when considering whether a dismissal was fair.  In this case the BMA did not seek to rely on a breach of contract so no contractual analysis was required.

Employers will welcome this outcome, but should proceed with caution when contemplating a dismissal linked to raising a grievance.  Dismissals as a result of asserting a statutory right will be automatically unfair, so it will be important to demonstrate vexatious or unreasonable behaviour on the part of the employee, as in this case.

To speak to a member of our employment team in complete confidence, please contact 01689 887840 or email laura.claridge@cwj.co.uk