Ms Burnett was a teacher at a school for children with behavioural problems. She was suspended after an incident during which she made physical contact with a child, scratching them in the process. She was dismissed after an investigation and brought an unfair dismissal claim.
The tribunal found in her favour. The Director of Children's Services who had heard Ms Burnett's appeal had not made any findings of fact about what Ms Burnett had actually done wrong. It was not enough for the Director to have simply concluded that Ms Burnett was guilty of inappropriate behaviour which amounted to gross misconduct. The Council had not established the potentially fair reason for dismissal, said the tribunal.
The Council appealed and won. It didn't matter that the Council had failed to identify the specific facts of what had happened. It was enough that the dismissing officer had a genuine belief that there had been misconduct.
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