Natural Justice and Procedural Fairness Should Be Considered Throughout Every Process
The EAT has held that the trade union certification officer should have considered questions of bias in a disciplinary procedure when looking at a complaint from a union member.
What Were the Facts of the Claim?
The case of Simpson v Unite The Union concerns a union member (Mr Simpson), who was expelled from the union, having raised complaints of bullying and harassment. Mr Simpson's complaints were investigated but not upheld. The investigator thought the complaints could be considered vexatious and recommended a Finance and General Purposes Committee (Committee) be convened to examine Mr Simpson's own conduct. The Committee decided it was possible Mr Simpson had acted vexatiously and commissioned an investigation into Mr Simpson's own conduct.
Following this second investigation, the Committee referred Mr Simpson to a disciplinary panel. The chair of the Committee was appointed to chair the panel. The disciplinary charges were upheld and Mr Simpson was expelled from the union with immediate effect. Mr Simpson appealed unsuccessfully against his expulsion.
What Happened After Mr Simpson's Expulsion?
After he was expelled, Mr Simpson applied to the Certification Officer for a declaration that he had been disciplined in breach of union rules. Specifically, he argued that it was against the principles of natural justice for the chair of the Committee to also chair the disciplinary panel. The Certification Officer rejected Mr Simpson's application for a declaration. She did not consider the question of whether the decision appeared biased and pre-determined. Mr Simpson applied to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).
What Did the EAT Decide?
The EAT held that the Certification Officer should have considered whether the disciplinary process gave rise to an appearance of bias, even though no rules had technically been broken in the procedure that had been followed. The fact that a particular committee has the power to deal with a disciplinary issue does not mean it has to do so, and there were other ways Mr Simpson's conduct could have been dealt with which would have allowed a more rigorous separation of power.
What Can Employers Learn from this Decision?
Whilst this is a decision concerning the inner workings of a trade union, there is much employers can learn from the decision. It is a useful demonstration of the importance of ensuring impartiality and a lack of bias in internal decisions, in particular so that they can stand up to scrutiny if challenged.
For more information about natural justice and procedural fairness, please contact Nick Murrell in our Employment team on 0117 314 5627, or complete the form below.