Sacked Housing Association Officer Wins Appeal

A former housing association officer who succeeded in an unfair dismissal claim – but was awarded not a penny for the impact which his unlawful treatment had on his future earnings – has been handed a fresh chance to win a bigger compensation award.

The former anti-social behaviour officer had been awarded just over £26,000 for his past loss of earnings by an Employment Tribunal (ET). However, the ET found that he remained ‘eminently employable’ and refused to compensate him for any future loss of earnings. His award for loss of pension rights was also reduced by 85 per cent.

Following his dismissal, the man had sought to mitigate his loss by finding work as a postman, but was paid only about one third of his previous salary. That job had in any event come to an end when he was struck down and gravely injured by a hit-and-run motorist. By the time of the ET hearing, he was unemployed.

In upholding his appeal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the ET had failed satisfactorily to address the question of his potential continuing loss arising from his dismissal. It had also given inadequate reasons for drastically reducing his award for loss of pension rights. The case was returned to the ET for fresh consideration of those issues.