Employee dismissed for raising vexatious grievances

The dismissal of an employee who had brought a number of grievances against senior managers, including grievances about grievances, was found to be fair in an appeal hearing due to the “frivolous and vexatious manner” in which he had used the process.

Summary

In the case of Hope v British Medical Association the Claimant Mr Hope had raised various grievances against senior managers. These included grievances about minor matters such as being excluded from meetings, which he refused to progress to the formal stage, instead seeking to retain the ability to do so. He did not withdraw the grievances and was eventually threatened with disciplinary action if he carried on raising grievances. He raised an informal complaint about this too. He was warned that if his grievances were seen as frivolous, it could result in disciplinary action. He then raised a grievance about that warning. Mr Hope refused to attend a formal grievance hearing which found his grievances to be frivolous, vexations, disrespectful and insubordinate. He was ultimately dismissed for gross misconduct.

A tribunal held his dismissal was fair and this was upheld at appeal.

Comment

I can imagine that many employers are reading this case summary with interest having found themselves in similar situations with employees who appear flippant about raising grievances, yet refuse to attend a grievance hearing. It is often all too easy for an employee to raise a grievance, creating extra workload for management and risking damage to relationships throughout an organisation. The important point here is that the allegations were found to be frivolous and vexatious. In such circumstances, an employer can consider whether such behaviour constitutes gross misconduct, although great care should be taken where grievances relate to allegations of discrimination.