4 August 2026

Tariro Carmel Nyoka featured in the press on unfair dismissal case

Tariro Carmel Nyoka, Senior Associate in our Employment team has shared her views on a recent unfair dismissal employment tribunal with HR Magazine.

An employment tribunal has awarded a former senior communications manager just under £13,000 after finding that he was unfairly dismissed over accidentally showing pornography on his phone to a junior female colleague. Tariro emphasised that HR teams must ensure that managers are properly trained on conducting investigations, handling disciplinary matters and making objective decisions.

Tariro comments: “This case demonstrates that even where there is compelling evidence of misconduct and an employer has a genuine and reasonable belief that misconduct occurred, a dismissal may still be unfair if the disciplinary process is procedurally flawed.

"The tribunal found that the respondent failed the third limb of the Burchell test because it did not carry out a reasonable investigation. It criticised the cumulative effect of procedural failings, including HR’s inappropriate involvement in the appeal decision-making process, reliance on historic allegations without properly considering prejudice to the claimant, and the failure to adequately consider evidence favourable to the claimant.

"Although the tribunal concluded that the claimant would almost certainly have been dismissed following a fair procedure, the dismissal was nevertheless unfair because the investigation itself was unreasonable."

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HR Magazine