EMPLOYMENT LAW

摘要

The most common claim brought in the employment tribunal is that of unfair dismissal. In order to defend the claim, the employer has to show that there was a potentially fair reason for the dismissal, for example, conduct, capability, redundancy, etc. However, that it is not sufficient by itself; the employer also has to persuade the employment tribunal that, taking into account all the circumstances including its size and administrative resources, it acted reasonably in treating the reason as sufficient to justify dismissal. In the recent case of Sakharkar v Northern Foods Grocery Group Ltd the importance of the second part of this test was highlighted when the employment tribunal focused upon the administrative resources of the company as being the deciding factor. The case concerned the application of an absence management procedure. There were in total four trigger points. The first three trigger points would invoke warnings. The fourth and final trigger point invoked dismissal. Mr Sakharkar's repeated absences meant that he reached the fourth stage and was dismissed under the procedure. He presented his claim for unfair dismissal.