Can a dismissal still be fair if the employer does not provide a right of appeal?
Yes, in the circumstances of this case, held the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Moore v Phoenix Product Development Limited.
The Claimant was the inventor of a water efficient toilet which was manufactured and marketed by the Respondent. He stepped down as CEO and stayed on as a director and employee but had difficulty accepting that it was no longer his company. The Board lost confidence in his abilities to change his ways and he was dismissed due to an irretrievable breakdown in relationships (coming under the category of ‘some other substantial reason’). He was not offered a right of appeal.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the employment tribunal’s decision to reject his claim of unfair dismissal. Whether a dismissal is fair or unfair depends on whether, in the circumstances, including the size and administrative resources of the employer’s undertaking, the employer acts reasonably or unreasonably treating it as a sufficient reason for dismissing the employee. Although an appeal will normally be part of a fair procedure, that will not invariably be so. Here, the relevant circumstances included the fact that the respondent was a small organisation, relations had broken down, the Claimant held a senior position and was unrepentant. The tribunal was right to find an appeal would have been futile, and that was one of the relevant circumstances to be taken into account.