In this episode 173 of the podcast I continue the series about dealing with capability and performance issues with staff. With what I am calling, the ‘Covid effect’, there may be more issues arising with employee attitudes and performance at work, particularly as staff return from long term furlough.
In my experience employers and managers find it very difficult to know how best to approach capability and performance issues. It is not the same as a conduct issue which can be fairly straightforward to follow a disciplinary process. Capability procedures are more involved and can have a variety of issues that arise as a result.
This is the last episode in the mini series and in this episode I am bringing you some case examples decided by the Employment Tribunal.
In this episode of the podcast I cover:
- The key points that an Employment Tribunal will look at to establish if a capability dismissal is fair.
- The steps that you need to ensure you follow if you are going to dismiss an employee for performance reasons.
- Cook v Department for Education – London Central Employment Tribunal – November 2016.
- Hoggins V Recruitment Solutions (Services) Limited – Reading Employment Tribunal – August 2017
- Adomako-Mensah v HMRC – London Central Employment Tribunal – August 2019
- Crotty v SMRS Limited – Manchester Employment Tribunal – January 2020
- James v Waltham Holy Cross UDC [1973] ICR.
- Alidair v Taylor [1978] ICR 445.
- Why it can be costly to get the process wrong.

Fixed Price Advice from Real Experts
As part of our HR Harbour annual subscription service for employers we provide guidance and training for employers, supervisors and managers. If you would like to know more about the HR Harbour Service and how you can get unlimited support from as little as £210 per month please contact me for a no obligation discussion – alison@realemploymentlawadvice.co.uk or you can find full details here: HR Harbour
Don’t forget you can contact us by telephone 01983 897003, 01722 653001, 020 3470 0007, 0191 375 9694 or 023 8098 2006
We have a variety of free documents and letters which are available to download here: DIY Documents
We are also on YouTube! You can find a range of topics and also listen to this podcast on YouTube here: YOUTUBE
The information contained in this Podcast and post is provided for guidance and is a snapshot of the law at the time. It is provided for your information only and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice that it specific to your particular circumstances.
The guidance should not be relied upon in any decision making process. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice before taking action.