Here's a very interesting case on the dearly beloved statutory dismissal procedures (not much longer...)
It is authority for the proposition that employers who announce an intention to dismiss before the step 1 letter and step 2 meeting can recover the situation by sending the letter and holding the meeting afterwards, provided they have not actually dismissed the employee.
In Smith Knight Fay v McCoy, the EAT held that the phrase 'action taken' in the statutory dismissal procedure referred to the act of dismissal, not the decision to dismiss. Thus an employee who was told he was being made redundant, and then given a step 1 letter and invited to a meeting, was not automatically unfairly dismissed.
See paras. 31-34 of the judgment (and feel free to comment on the case).
[Thanks to David Lewis of Hardwicke Buildings, who represented the employer, for telling me about this case]
Comments