In an unfair dismissal case, the adequacy of an investigation must be determined through the “band of reasonable responses test”, as the recent case of Ververt v B&Q Plc demonstrated.

The case involved a fight between Mr Ververt and his line manager Mr Deol at the B&Q store where they worked in Slough. The fight was broken up by Mr Donachy, another manager at the store, who then took statements from those present. Both Mr Ververt and Mr Deol claimed that they had been assaulted by the other.

On the recommendation of Mr Donachy, Mr Ververt was suspended. Subsequently, an inquiry meeting was held, and as a result of Mr Ververt’s complaint Mr Deol was also suspended and interviewed, although no further action was taken against him. Mr Ververt, however, was brought before a second, disciplinary, meeting, where he was dismissed for his aggressive behaviour.

Mr Ververt brought a claim of unfair dismissal before an employment tribunal. The tribunal dismissed the claim, concluding that B&Q’s belief in Mr Ververt’s culpability was reasonable, and that the investigation had been adequate.

Mr Ververt appealed the decision, and won. When assessing the reasonableness of an investigation, an employment tribunal is obliged to apply the “band of reasonable responses test”. The EAT agreed with Mr Ververt that the tribunal had failed to address a key issue in the case: the fact that, once his complaint had been received, Mr Deol should have been suspended and the investigation should have started afresh in order to establish exactly what happened and who was the guilty party.

The presiding judge HHJ Birtle stated: “We do not feel that we can say on the material before us that either as a matter of law or fact that [B&Q] carried out a responsible investigation or that on the material before us the majority of the tribunal would inevitably have come to the same result.” The case was then remitted to the same tribunal to deliberate on that question.

Technorati Tags: Disciplinary Investigation, Reasonable Responses, Unfair Dismissal