An admin worker in Oxford who was unfairly sacked for mistakenly sending an offensive email to a customer has won over £5,000 in an unfair dismissal claim. Meliesha Jones accidentally sent an email to a customer, calling them “a t**t”, instead of forwarding it to a colleague while dealing with a customer complaint at Vale Curtains and Blinds in Oxford. She was dismissed for gross misconduct a week after the incident, as the email was intended for the company’s installations manager Karl Gibbons but was sent to the customer in error.
The employment tribunal in Reading ruled that Ms Jones had been unfairly dismissed and awarded her £5,484.74 in compensation. The customer had lodged multiple complaints about his order and had requested a full refund. The email in question read: “Hi Karl. Can you change this… he’s a t**t so it doesn’t matter if you can’t.” The customer’s wife called up soon after receiving the email, questioning why her husband was referred to in such a derogatory term.
Realising her mistake, Ms Jones apologized profusely but the customer’s wife demanded to speak to the manager, Jacqueline Smith. Despite apologizing and offering compensation, the company decided to conduct a disciplinary hearing and subsequently dismissed Ms Jones. The tribunal found that the dismissal was primarily motivated by the customer’s threats to publicize the incident on various platforms rather than following due process.
Employment Judge Akua Reindorf KC stated that the dismissal was unjust as a fair procedure was not followed. She highlighted that the company’s actions were aimed at appeasing the customer and preventing negative reviews rather than considering alternative resolutions. While acknowledging Ms Jones’ error, the judge emphasised that the dismissal was disproportionate and not justified. The tribunal criticised the lack of a thorough investigation, absence of interviews with relevant parties, and the rushed decision to terminate Ms Jones’ employment.
Despite admitting to the inappropriate language used, the tribunal found that Ms Jones had been careless but that her actions were not severe enough to warrant dismissal. The judge concluded that the company sacrificed Ms Jones to appease the customer, failing to explore less drastic measures. Overall, the tribunal’s ruling underscored the importance of fair procedures and proportionate responses to workplace incidents to avoid unjust dismissals.