The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that a dismissal was fair when an employee raised a lot of grievances that he refused to progress.
In Hope v British Medical Association the EAT agreed the dismissal for gross misconduct was fair.
Hope v British Medical Association
Mr Hope was employed by the BMA as a senior policy adviser in 2014.
Over the next few years he raised several grievances against senior managers, particularly concerning not inviting him to meetings he thought he should attend.
Despite raising these grievances Mr Hope refused to take them to the formal stage, despite the fact his line manager could not deal with them informally, as they concerned more senior management.
Grievance and disciplinary action
Mr Hope also refused to withdraw the grievances and wasted a lot of time over the years.
He was eventually invited to a formal grievance meeting in March 2019, but refused to attend.
He was then disciplined for failing to comply with a reasonable management instruction and that this, together with what were considered frivolous grievances, amounted to gross misconduct. He was dismissed two months later in May 2019.
Paul outlines the claim and decision and provides some key takeways for employers in the full article. You cna read it here.