In the case of Tracie Shearwood v Lean Education and Development Tracie Shearwood, a worker at Lean Education and Development in Dudley, West Midlands, England, lost her job as a result of “enormously” infuriating the company’s managing director, Maxine Jones, by going out for a meal with two co-workers “at the height” of a crisis for the company.
The managing director, Maxine Jones, allegedly viewed the lunch as “disloyalty” and evidence that she wasn’t “dedicated” to her position at Lean Education and Development in Dudley, West Midlands, according to the Employment Tribunals. Ms. Shearwood was fired from the firm due to this “gross misconduct.”
She was also given the blame for “pure negligence” and paperwork mistakes. Shortly thereafter, Ms Shearwood was dismissed from the training company for gross misconduct.
At the time of events in July 2018, she had been promoted to head of compliance when an audit “didn’t go well” due to a series of errors in the company’s records.
The hearing was told Ms Jones had written a “dramatic” email to put pressure on her staff, telling them there was a risk the store would be shut down.
A month later, Ms Shearwood was stripped of her duty to print for “serious errors”, suspended and summoned to a disciplinary hearing.
Ms Shearwood was “extremely upset” by this and lodged a complaint. Her suspension was lifted after an investigation.
But the day after her suspension was lifted, she angered Ms Jones by leaving work to have lunch with two colleagues.
The hearing was told Ms Jones had held a meeting with all three and suggested that if they weren’t “fully focused on their work” they would seek alternative employment.
Ms Jones saw this as a “disloyal act” and resuspended Ms Shearwood.
After another disciplinary meeting in September 2018, she was then dismissed for gross misconduct, alleging “pure negligence” and errors in her records.
The court ruled that the company’s grounds for her dismissal were invalid and awarded compensation for unfair dismissal of £11,885.62.
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