An employment tribunal found that Foodhub’s dismissal of a senior sales manager was unfair due to serious flaws in its disciplinary process. Although concerns had arisen about the manager’s limited time in the field, unusually low expenses, and unapproved remote work overseas, the way the organisation managed the situation ultimately undermined its position.
The tribunal concluded that the investigation was incomplete and appeared designed to justify the CEO’s initial summary dismissal rather than establish the full facts. While there were reasonable grounds to question the employee’s compliance with role expectations, the process itself carried only “the superficial appearance of fairness” and was described as “an exercise in window dressing”. Key failings included the absence of a structured investigation plan, missing documentation of findings, unclear separation of roles that risked undue influence, and a reliance on narrow or incomplete enquiries. As a result, the dismissal was ruled unfair, and the employee received approximately £61,000 in compensation.
