He was aggressive.
There was a pattern.
The dismissal felt justified.
And to the manager’s credit - they followed policy.
✔️ Invitation letter
✔️ Disciplinary hearing
✔️ Outcome given
But what they followed was structure without substance.
Because:
No investigation
No neutral evidence
No full timeline
No reference to case law
No gender lens on prior outcomes.
This is where good leaders slip.
They think policy = protection.
But every policy triggers other obligations - many unwritten, but still expected in tribunal.
And that’s where I stepped in.
To stop a legally unsafe dismissal before it cost them thousands.
Because here’s what most leaders don’t realise:
Best practice isn’t always written.
And precedent weighs just as heavily as process.
If you haven’t applied:
📌 Case law
📌 Procedural fairness
📌 Reasonable adjustment
📌 Consistency across gendered behaviours -
Then your “reasonable” decisions are likely to still be ruled as unfair.
Let’s say the employee had been a woman.
Would the outcome have been different?
Would the tone of the meeting have changed?
Would leadership have labelled it aggression - or emotion?
That’s not a hypothetical.
That’s your tribunal risk profile.
So, here's what I want you to do right now;
↳ Don’t treat policies as checklists - treat them as legal triggers
↳ Audit past disciplinary outcomes for gender disparity
↳ Document every stage, not just the decision
↳ Train managers to investigate first, not assume
↳ Sense-check major actions with someone who understands employment law and bias patterns
Does your dismissal process hold up to case law, precedent, and policy?
And would you have followed it the same way if she had raised her voice instead?
👋🏽 𝗛𝗶, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁.
𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗼𝗼.
𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗥 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.
𝗠𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 - 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲.
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Founder of HR Habitat, award winner of "Best HR & Employment Law Consultancy, 2024" title. As featured in BBC Oline, BBC Asian Network Radio, Telegraph & more.
