Expired Warnings in Unfair Dismissal Cases
A Court of Session case which is well worth reading involves an expired disciplinary warning, which was subsequently relied on in a dismissal of a worker for a health and safety breach. The court confirmed that an expired disciplinary warning cannot be relied upon in dismissing someone, even though the incident was a breach of safety rules with potentially life threatening consequences. The moral of the story is to make sure that there is no end date to a warning for a serious health and safety offence, otherwise you will not be able to rely on it in future if it is expired. Rules and disciplinary procedures may need to be looked at to allow this provision.
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2006CSIH05.html
1 April 2006
