Best Practice for Employers When Handling Grievances in the Workplace
In the recent decision of Hope v British Medical Association, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held it was fair to dismiss an employee for raising numerous grievances which he then refused to progress or withdraw.
Hope v British Medical Association Case
Mr Hope (the claimant) was employed by BMA as a senior policy adviser from June 2014 until 24 May 2019 when he was dismissed for gross misconduct. The claimant brought a number of grievances against senior managers. He wanted to discuss his grievances informally with his line manager but refused to progress them to the formal stage.
He also refused to withdraw them.
A formal grievance meeting was scheduled for 21 March 2019. The claimant was asked to attend the meeting and was told his employer considered it a reasonable instruction to ask him to attend. Despite this, the claimant failed to attend and the meeting proceeded in his absence. The grievances were not upheld.
BMA concluded that the claimant's conduct of bringing numerous vexatious and frivolous grievances and his refusal to attend the meeting amounted to gross misconduct. It took disciplinary action against the claimant which resulted in his dismissal.
The ET and EAT Decision
Both the Employment Tribunal and the EAT agreed the claimant's dismissal was fair. It was reasonable for BMA to conclude the claimant's conduct was vexatious and unreasonable. It was also reasonable for BMA to have dismissed H on that basis. It was not necessary for the employer to demonstrate the claimant had wilfully committed a breach of contract, or alternatively had committed 'gross negligence' in order to find he had committed an act of gross misconduct.
Best Practice for Employers
This case demonstrates that employers do not have to be held hostage by employees who bring repeated, frivolous grievances. However, employers finding themselves in similar situations should tread carefully in order to ensure any action they take is fair and proportionate in the circumstances. No doubt the employer's position in this case was helped by the clear expectation it communicated to the claimant that his attendance at the grievance hearing was considered a reasonable instruction. The fact the claimant ignored that instruction would have been relevant to the legitimacy of the action the employer subsequently took.
