Ben is a head chef at a busy hospitality group. Twelve years in the same kitchen. Worked every Christmas, every New Year, every double shift nobody else wanted. Last month a disagreement with a junior chef spilled over. Voices were raised. It got heated.
Three days later Ben got a letter.
No investigation. No disciplinary hearing. No opportunity to tell his side of the story. Just a letter telling him his employment was terminated for gross misconduct, effective immediately.
Ben has now instructed a solicitor.
This is one of the most avoidable tribunal claims in employment law. Before dismissing someone for gross misconduct, an employer must investigate the incident, invite the employee to a formal hearing, allow them to be accompanied and give them the right to appeal. Skipping any of these steps doesn’t just weaken your case.
It hands Ben’s solicitor everything they need.
✅ 3 THINGS BEN’S EMPLOYER GOT WRONG
1. No investigation — even in cases of serious misconduct, the facts must be established before any decision is made.
2. No hearing — every employee has the right to put their case before a decision is reached.
3. No appeal — without one the process is procedurally unfair regardless of what actually happened.
At People Vision HR we help businesses handle disciplinary procedures properly — the investigation, the hearing, the letters and the process that protects you if it ever goes further.
Before Ben’s solicitor does it for you.