Q and A: Gross misconduct

Question

I've just dismissed a long-standing employee for gross misconduct.

He just doesn't seem to get on with his younger colleagues. Now he's decided to play the 'age card' and has brought a claim for unfair dismissal and age discrimination.

The case will be thrown out, won't it?

Answer

Not necessarily. It depends whether he has really committed an act of gross misconduct, or if this was just a ruse to get him out. In the case of Hussain v Live Nations (Venues), Mr Hussain was dismissed after many years' service, allegedly for gross misconduct. The tribunal found that the problems between him and his managers had arisen largely because of those managers' failings.

Allegations that the problems had arisen because Mr Hussain didn't like being managed by younger managers were found to be entirely unsubstantiated.

Instead, the tribunal found that his age influenced the way he was treated, and he was awarded £5,000 for injury to feelings, with a 40 per cent uplift to reflect the failure to properly follow the statutory dismissal procedure.