Assuming the worst about you without checking your side can make a dismissal unfair.
“Unfair dismissalA legal claim you can bring if your employer dismissed you without a fair reason or without following a fair process. You normally need two years of continuous employment to qualify, though some dismi... upheld; compensation reduced 50% for contributory conductContributory conduct is blameworthy behaviour by you that a tribunal finds actually contributed to your own dismissal. It can reduce your compensation even where the dismissal itself was unfair, and u..., plus a 10% ACAS upliftAn Acas uplift is an increase of up to 25% added to an employment tribunal award when the employer has unreasonably failed to follow the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures....; £10,010.05 awarded.”
If your employer jumps to conclusions instead of checking the facts, including the ones that would help you, the dismissal can be unfair. That's true even if you admit part of what you're accused of.
- Anyone who can back up your version of events should be interviewed before your employer decides, so ask for that in writing if you can.
- Keep your own record of who you told and when, especially if you're working around a problem like faulty equipment or a broken process.
- If you're dismissed after a rushed or one-sided investigation, get advice quickly. Admitting part of what you're accused of doesn't rule out a claim.
The situation
Her role was support work at a facility for adults with learning disabilities. Her employer dismissed her for gross misconductBehaviour serious enough that your employer is entitled to dismiss you immediately without notice. Common examples include theft, violence, or serious dishonesty, but what counts depends on your emplo... after she clocked in at a different site to the one she was working at, without telling her manager. She explained that the sign-in tablet at her usual site kept failing. She'd told colleagues where she really was each time she signed in elsewhere. She accepted she hadn't informed her manager she was doing this, but disputed some of the more serious details her employer relied on to dismiss her. She brought a claim for unfair and wrongful dismissalA breach of contract claim, usually about not being given the correct notice or notice pay, decided under ordinary contract law rather than employment rights legislation. It is different from unfair d....
What the tribunal found
The tribunal found the dismissal unfair because the investigation behind it was inadequate. The managers who dismissed her, and the ones who heard her appeal, relied on assumptions instead of facts. They assumed she'd been late on multiple occasions. They assumed she'd left a service user without support. Nobody had actually checked either claim with the people who could confirm or deny them. Because her own conduct contributed to her dismissal, her compensation was reduced by 50%. But the tribunal added a 10% uplift on top, because the employer had breached the ACAS Code of PracticeOfficial guidance issued by ACAS on how disciplinary and grievance procedures should be run. It is not law, but tribunals take it into account, and a failure to follow it can result in any award being... by failing to investigate properly. She was awarded £10,010.05.
If you've broken a rule at work but you have a reasonable explanation, your employer still has to properly check that explanation before deciding they can't trust you. A hunch alone doesn't meet that standard, and skipping the check can make your dismissal unfair even where you accept you did something wrong. That includes not interviewing witnesses who could back you up, or assuming things happened without ever checking them.
This case also shows two things can be true at once. A tribunal can find your dismissal unfair while also reducing your compensation to reflect your own part in what happened. Your employer handled it badly. You made a mistake. Neither cancels out the other.
If you've been dismissed after an investigation that felt rushed, one-sided, or built on assumptions instead of facts, get advice. An employment adviser can help you work out whether the investigation met the legal standard. They can also help you see what you might be able to claim if it fell short.
The same trade-off between winning your claim and losing part of the award for your own conduct shows up in our case study on how an unfair dismissal award can still be cut for your own conduct.
Ms A Conteh v Transforming Support (South London) Ltd. Case 2309587/2024. London South Employment Tribunal. 11 June 2026.