Edge v Viridor Waste

Employment – Unfair dismissal. The employee sought ill-health retirement on the basis of chronic degenerative condition of his spine. Shortly after doctors had reported that he was permanently unfit to work, the employee was observed displaying a range of movements. He was subsequently dismissed on the basis that he had allegedly exaggerated his condition. The employment tribunal held that, while the employee had genuinely believed in the employee's guilt and that the dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses, the employer had not had reasonable grounds for its belief. The tribunal further allowed a claim for wrongful dismissal. The Employment Appeal Tribunal, allowing the employer's appeal, held that the tribunal had taken the wrong approach and had substituted its own view as to whether the employee had exaggerated. The tribunal had further erred in its conclusion on wrongful dismissal. The claim was remitted.