Bouncing back to avoid any lasting harm from an unfair dismissal

The career consequences of suffering a serious injury while playing with his children were the last thing on Marcus’s mind at the time - but his employer’s actions really did add insult to injury.

The IT technician, who had worked in the education sector for seven years, suffered serious back and shoulder injuries after falling on a trampoline while playing with his children.

The accident forced Marcus to take long‑term sick leave. During the 10 months he was off he kept his employer updated, and followed every requirement of the absence management policy.

His problems began when his teenage daughter posted a video of herself dancing at home on social media, and Marcus appeared briefly in the background, smiling.

Somehow, the footage was brought to his employer’s attention and used to suggest he was exaggerating his injuries and not as badly hurt as he claimed.

The employer wrote to Marcus to invite him to attend a virtual fact‑finding meeting as part of a disciplinary investigation triggered by the social media clip.

Marcus’s manager conducted the meeting and claimed the 20‑second video showed him dancing, looking healthy and smiling.

He explained he was not dancing at all, was standing still, not moving, and simply waving one arm back and forth while laughing.

The manager insisted that faking illness was a serious matter and would be referred to a disciplinary hearing because the “evidence” was conclusive.

Marcus was furious. He disputed the claim and pointed out the video did not show him doing anything he had said he was unable to do.

Subsequently, Marcus was invited to attend a disciplinary hearing.

Under the ACAS Code of Practice, an employer must provide all evidence in advance of the hearing.

The evidence he received included an anonymous witness statement suggesting he was exaggerating his injury and had been seen doing activities he claimed he could not do. Understandably, Marcus was shocked by this evidence.

However, because he was genuinely injured, he believed that attending the hearing on his own, without exercising his statutory right to be accompanied, would be enough. He thought if he simply explained himself and provided his medical evidence, everything would be resolved fairly.

Marcus was dismissed for dishonesty, which the employer claimed amounted to gross misconduct.

He felt strongly it was an unfair dismissal. He contacted our Employee Support Centre for help with a disciplinary appeal. Marcus was put in touch with one of our trade union representatives .

Our trade union representative drafted Marcus’s appeal letter, attended the disciplinary appeal hearing with him, and presented his case at the meeting.

Beforehand, he checked with Marcus about the outcome he wanted. Marcus was clear in that he had completely lost trust and confidence in his employer and wanted a settlement agreement.

He asked for a financial payment that would give him some breathing space and time to recover fully and find alternative employment without immediate financial pressure.

At the appeal hearing, our trade union representative carefully picked apart the evidence and the process to show, clearly and effectively, just how unfair it was.

He highlighted the employer’s reliance on an anonymous witness statement, pointed out there was no evidence to support any of the claims in it, and explained why using such a statement was unreasonable and not in line with legal precedent on anonymous witnesses.

He also reiterated the medical evidence to demonstrate Marcus’s injuries were genuine.

Because Marcus had been on long‑term sick leave, it was also raised he may have a disability under the Equality Act 2010, meaning the outcome could also be discriminatory.

Our trade union representative made it clear the way Marcus had been treated meant he had lost all trust and confidence in his employer, and he opened a discussion about a settlement agreement.

After the hearing concluded, a full discussion and negotiations took place, and eventually an agreement was reached, which Marcus was genuinely delighted with.