Search
Close this search box.

Project manager wins unfair dismissal claim after not completing work while on furlough

In the case of Mr Canneaux v Land Science Limited, the employer is a business that provides testing and advice on ground engineering and contaminated land projects. At the time of Mr Canneaux’s dismissal it had about 18 employees. It had very limited administrative resources and did not even have an inhouse HR advisor.

In the case of Mr Canneaux v Land Science Limited, the employer is a business that provides testing and advice on ground engineering and contaminated land projects. At the time of Mr Canneaux’s dismissal it had about 18 employees. It had very limited administrative resources and did not even have an inhouse HR advisor.

Mr Canneaux’s employment commenced in February 2016. He was employed as a Project Manager. Mr Toms, the Managing Director, had a longstanding dissatisfaction with Mr Canneaux. He had a habit of engaging in inappropriate behaviour such as performing stunts in an old car on a client’s premises. It was a scrap car, but nonetheless one that belonged to the client and which Mr Canneaux did not have permission to use. The stunts involved driving the car over a makeshift ramp at speed to make it jump and driving the car through a makeshift wall of tyres that were stacked higher and wider than the car.

Mr Canneaux was surly at work. He was not happy there and he made this obvious through his demeanour and presentation. He sometimes said inappropriate things to colleagues, like calling them ‘retards’ or fat. He also engaged in ‘laddish’ behaviour. On one occasion Mr Canneaux brought a bullet that he had found to work.

After the company was told to make cuts, with Mr Toms finding Mr Canneaux had not finished his work having been furloughed, he made him redundant. The freelance engineer has now successfully sued the company with Employment judge Daniel Dyal concluding he had ‘no hesitation’ in finding the dismissal unfair. Judge Dyal said: “In my view, part (not all) of Mr Toms’ frustration relates to the fact [Mr Canneaux] did not do any further work once he had been furloughed.

“Although it is true that [Land Science Limited] had opened a disciplinary investigation into [Mr Canneaux] and was using the language of gross misconduct among other things to describe it, in my view this was essentially about leverage. It wanted to put [him] in a position where taking redundancy seemed like a good option. That would make it more likely for him to go quietly…

“There were elements of blameworthy conduct in his past behaviour in the workplace… The procedure adopted to secure his dismissal was devoid of any semblance of procedural fairness.”

A remedy hearing will be held to decide how much compensation he is paid.

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Expert tips for spring cleaning CV and career

29 March 2024

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

University of Warwick – WMGSalary: £23,144 to £25,138 per annum This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and

The Open University – People ServicesSalary: £57,696 to £64,914 + up to £8,000 per annum MRP supplement* This provides summary information and comment on the

Cardiff UniversitySalary: Competitive This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information

University of Oxford – Oxford Department of International DevelopmentSalary: £28,759 to £33,966 (Grade 5) This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered.

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE