Employee who lied during disciplinary investigation dismissed…

The Court of Appeal has upheld the dismissal of a senior employee who was found to have lied during an investigation into a failure to follow proper processes.

The employee hired a staff member without abiding by the employer’s policies on hiring staff.

A disciplinary investigation was started and the employee gave explanations that conflicted with the evidence of other staff.  The employer raised its concerns as to the alleged lies with the employee, and gave her an opportunity to comment on those allegations as well as the original issues.

The employer found the original allegation proved, but at a level that would not justify a dismissal.  However, it did dismiss her for lying during the process.

The Court held that a fair process had been followed, as the lying allegations were raised with the employee with sufficient detail and she was given a reasonable opportunity to respond.  There was no need to start a new disciplinary process and the new allegations could be dealt with during the original disciplinary process.

Alan Knowsley