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United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal >> Budgens Stores Ltd v. Floyd [2001] UKEAT 1080_00_0312 (3 December 2001) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2001/1080_00_0312.html Cite as: [2001] UKEAT 1080__312, [2001] UKEAT 1080_00_0312 |
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At the Tribunal | |
Before
HIS HONOUR JUDGE D M LEVY QC
MS J DRAKE
MISS S M WILSON
APPELLANT | |
RESPONDENT |
Transcript of Proceedings
JUDGMENT
Revised
For the Appellant | MR OLIVER CAMPBELL (of Counsel) Messrs Shoosmiths Solicitors The Lakes Northampton NN4 7SH |
For the Respondent | MR TIM BULEY (of Counsel) Free Representation Unit Peer House 4th Floor 8-14 Verulam Street London EC1X 8LZ |
HIS HONOUR JUDGE D M LEVY QC
" Security and Search Procedures"
The Company reserves the right to search any Employee and their property whilst on Company premises [emphasis added] and the Company will undertake random searches as a normal practice. Full details of the Security and Search Procedure may be found in the Staff Handbook."
The staff handbook included at March 1997 a heading 'Breaches of discipline which may result in disciplinary action' and then as sub headings:
"(3) GROSS MISCONDUCT
Examples of gross misconduct which may {emphasis added] render an employee liable to summary dismissal are given below. Please remember that the list is not exhaustive. …..
……
k) Actions which breach Company Security Procedures including failure to submit to a security search …."
"I can't remember the time I clocked off on Friday. Could have been about 2 o'clock time. I saw the Security Guard the car was parked as I walked across. He then walked round the back of the car and into the security shed. Why he did not stop me when he looked at me, that is what annoyed me mostly. I thought he was not bothering. Because I went out I was almost on the path going towards my car, then he shouted excuse me sir, I asked him What do you want? He said I want to look in your bag. He said that it is in my contract that I will be searched from time to time."
If that is what was said, of course, what is in the contract is, to be searched 'on company property'. In the IT3 of the Company the grounds of resisting the application are said to be:
"On Friday 17th December 1999, Mr F Floyd was asked by a security guard to submit himself to a search on leaving the premises."
and also:
"At the subsequent Appeal, Mr Floyd was asked why de didn't walk back to the gatehouse to be searched. Mr Floyd explained that the security guard approached him and they met in the road. Mr Floyd admits he should have walked back with the security guard to the gatehouse to be searched, but he 'just wanted to get off home'.
"It is the unanimous decision of the Tribunal that the Applicant has not committed an act of gross conduct pursuant to the Respondent's terms and conditions of employment."
It failed properly or at all to follow guidelines given on applying the familiar steps set out in British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell [1978] IRLR 379.
"The question before the Industrial Tribunal should be "Are we satisfied that the employers had, at the time of dismissal, reasonable grounds for believing that the offence put against the applicant was committed?" rather than "Are we satisfied that the offence was committed?""