Employer-favourable
1978
Dismissal on capability grounds requires a genuine and reasonably held belief that the employee cannot perform to the required standard, based on proper investigation, not simply an incident or a disagreement about performance.
Mixed
1977
The fairness of a dismissal is assessed on what your employer knew at the time it was made, not on information that came to light afterwards.
Employee-favourable
2026
If your employer identifies that you need occupational health support or extra training and then does nothing about it for months, that failure can turn a later performance dismissal into unlawful disability discrimination.
Employer-favourable
2019
A thin, bare-conclusion occupational health report carries less weight than a detailed one, so if your employer’s decision rests on a weak OH assessment, you can ask what questions OH was actually asked and whether the report properly engages with your situation.
Employer-favourable
2021
A final written warning behind your dismissal is rarely reopened by a tribunal. The question is usually whether the dismissal itself was reasonable, not whether the warning was fair.
Employee-favourable
2017
The employer must have genuinely engaged with the medical evidence and considered the full circumstances. Only then can a decision to dismiss be fair. Prolonged absence does not by itself justify dismissal for ill-health capability.
Employer-favourable
1977
An ill-health dismissal requires the employer to genuinely investigate the medical position and balance the employee’s personal circumstances, length of service, and the prognosis against the needs of the business.
Employer-favourable
1981
Unfair dismissal is not about whether you are guilty or innocent. It is about whether your employer’s decision and process fell within the range of what a reasonable employer would have done.
Mixed
2006
Even if a tribunal finds your dismissal was unfair, your compensation can be reduced, including to nil, if the tribunal concludes you would have been fairly dismissed anyway had the employer followed a proper process.
Mixed
2007
A tribunal must always make a genuine attempt to assess the Polkey reduction, using the available evidence, and cannot simply use uncertainty as a reason to wipe out compensation.
Employer-favourable
1983
In an unfair dismissal claim, the test is not what the tribunal would have decided but whether your employer’s decision was one a reasonable employer could have made. Process failures are often where employers fall outside the range.
Employee-favourable
1995
Your employer owes you a duty of care that covers psychiatric injury from overwork. Once it knows you are at risk, it must act.
