Soundbite: Dozing off at work does not automatically justify dismissal

In the recent case of Mr C Okoro v Bidvest Noonan (UK) Ltd, an employment tribunal ruled that an employer’s summary dismissal of an employee who fell asleep for 15 minutes while on duty was unfair.

Mr Okoro, who was a CCTV controller at the Xscape shopping centre in Milton Keynes, was dismissed for gross misconduct after he was discovered to have been asleep while on duty for approximately 15 minutes. Despite over 16 years of service with an unblemished disciplinary record, his employer concluded that the incident warranted immediate dismissal.

While the tribunal accepted that Mr Okoro’s employer had conducted a fair investigation and genuinely believed misconduct had occurred, it ruled that the decision to dismiss was outside the band of reasonable responses that could be expected from an employer. As a result, Mr Okoro was awarded just over £20,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal.

It is important to bear in mind the context taken into account by the tribunal in its determination. Factors influencing the tribunal’s ruling included the involuntary nature of the incident, the short length of time he was asleep, the lack of serious consequences, and the fact that falling asleep on the job was not listed as an example of gross misconduct in the employer’s disciplinary policy. However, the tribunal emphasised that Mr Okoro’s exemplary service record was the factor which weighed most heavily away from summary dismissal.

The tribunal ruled that, given the circumstances, Mr Okoro should have instead been given a final written warning.

The key takeaways for employers are as follows:

• Context is critical: Misconduct must be evaluated in light of the employee’s employment history and the circumstances of the incident.
• Proportionality matters: A fair process must be matched with a reasonable and balanced outcome.
• Long service counts: Summary dismissal is more likely to be considered unfair where employees have long, clean records.

If you need assistance with conducting disciplinary procedures or drafting disciplinary policies, please get in touch with a member of the team.