Sweeney (deceased) v Strathclyde Fire Board

Employers often get confused about what they can and can't take into account during the disciplinary process. In the Sweeney case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) looked at a situation in which an employer had factored into its dismissal decision a later warning the employee had received.

Mr Sweeney was a fireman. In July 2010 he was charged with assaulting his wife. One month later he was given a final written warning for unauthorised absence from work. In March 2011 he was sentenced to community service for the assault.

The fire service investigated the conduct (the assault) that had led to the criminal sentence. Rather than give Mr Sweeney a final written warning for that, his employer dismissed him – it took into account the final written warning for unauthorised absence, even though it post-dated the assault.

The EAT held that the employer was entitled to look at Mr Sweeney's entire employment record when considering dismissal. It didn't matter that the written warning was for later misconduct; the fact that it had been issued could be taken into account in the disciplinary process.