How failing to follow a disciplinary procedure could be very costly for your business
Facts:
- Regional director, Paolo Porchetti, was consistently underperforming at work.
- Mr Porchetti’s underperformance left bosses frustrated and they decided to offer him a settlement package.
- After receiving the settlement package, Mr Porchetti submitted a huge expense claim worth £60,000. He also returned a company car that needed thousands of pounds worth of repairs and a broken laptop.
- Shocked at Mr Porchetti’s behaviour, the company abandoned settlement negotiations and fired him instead.
Tribunal Decision:
The tribunal in Nottingham heard that the company invested ‘significant cost’ in relocating Mr Porchetti to Kuala Lumpa, with a generous package which included a £20,000 signing-on bonus, a company car, regular flights to Europe and accommodation allowance.
Mr Porchetti was repeatedly scoring around 30 per cent on monthly personal objective scores, was regularly late for meetings, neglected work and ‘seemed to go missing’. His region in the company was described as the worst performing in the company. One worker even resigned due to a lack of work and ‘challenge’ under Mr Porchetti.
Employment Judge Butler (EJB) ruled Brush was right to dismiss Mr Porchetti but said it was unfair because it was carried out quickly and lacked proper procedure.
EJB commented that ‘the predominant reason for Mr Porchetti’s dismissal was capability and it is clear…that his performance was poor.
Although Mr Porchetti won his unfair dismissal claim, he will not receive any compensation because he was judged to have contributed to his sacking.
Comments:
The moral of this case is, no matter how frustrated you become with an employee it is always important to ensure that you follow the correct procedure. It might take extra time but it will be quicker and cheaper than a Tribunal claim.
If you would like more information about how to deal with a disciplinary, please contact us on [email protected] or [email protected]