Comparison was irrelevant

Levenes Solicitors v Dalley EAT 23 November 2006; Lawtel 7 January

The employee, a black Afro-Caribbean, had been employed by the appellant firm of solicitors as a solicitor. During her employment she had failed to return to work after a period of vacation and had missed a time limit in proceedings for which she had been responsible. Disciplinary proceedings were instituted against her and attempts to reach a compromise agreement to leave failed. She was dismissed for gross misconduct. The tribunal held that the substantive treatment of the termination and the disciplinary procedures were reasonable and that the dismissal was within the band of reasonable responses open to the appellant. However the tribunal upheld the unfair dismissal and race discrimination claims on the basis that another employee, a black African, who had missed court deadlines on three occasions had been treated differently, in that she had not been disciplined.