Man unfairly sacked 'contributed to his dismissal'

Former estate manager awarded over £8,000

A tribunal has found a man was unfairly dismissed by his employer but that he did 'contribute to his dismissal by his own conduct'.

David Townend was fired from his job as estate manager at the Isle of Man Home of Rest for Old Horses on 13 March 2023.

Mr Townend alleged that he had been unfairly dismissed; had suffered unlawful deduction from pay and that he had been discriminated against on the grounds of Age and Disability. 

The respondent denied all liability.

On 10th February 2023, Mr Townend was preparing to move into a property on the Home’s premises when he received a phone call from Mr Rodger Clague, a director, asking to meet that afternoon.

On arrival he was provided with a letter suspending him based on an allegation of 'negligence resulting in unacceptable loss or risk of injury to the animals'. 

He was then offered a package of payment of three months’ notice with pay for days already worked for the month plus accrued holiday pay and a reference but this decision had to be taken immediately. 

Alternatively, he was informed that he would face a Disciplinary Hearing for gross misconduct and that if found guilty, this would 'result in instant dismissal for Gross Misconduct with no notice payment at all and any future job reference would show that I had been dismissed'.

The following afternoon Mr Townend tendered his resignation but subject to the offer from the previous day still being open, which was then agreed.

However, following advice received from the Manx Industrial Relations Service, Mr Townend withdrew his resignation at the end of February.

As a result, the disciplinary process then started. 

Mr Townend faced three allegations:

• The first and third concerned an allegation that he had failed to close a gate and that he had exposed the horses to the risk of being able to exit the premises onto the main Douglas to Castletown A5 road.
• The second allegation also involved the safety of an animal in the care of the Home.

The sole basis relied on by the Home for summary dismissal was Mr Townend’s failure promptly to close a gate which could have led to a horse or horses escaping to the main road on 8 February 2023. 

The tribunal found that: "Mr Townend must bear his share of the blame for taking the risk that he did on 8 February. There is one certainty among the disputed facts of the precise circumstances. This is that the gate was left open at a time when it could so easily have been immediately shut to prevent any risk of escape. 

"There was no hard evidence as to precisely for how long Mr Townend had left the gate open. [But] it was too long. Any delay in closing the gate after driving through created a possible risk."

However, it ruled in favour of Mr Townend overall, as 'no horse had escaped'.

It said: "There had been a risk but no damage. The Tribunal considered that, on the balance of probabilities, a fair outcome would have been a final written warning. This would have been effective for future prevention of such a lapse. The Tribunal considered that with his enjoyment of the job and his wish to continue with it until retirement, he would have been careful not to risk losing it. Mr Townend so much enjoyed his job. He would have had a home provided for him and his family and he wanted to remain in post until retirement."

The tribunal did concede that he contributed to his dismissal by his own conduct 'to the extent of 75 per cent'.

His compensation includes money covering a basic award; loss of statutory rights, loss of earnings, future lost earnings, and money lost via the fact he could not move into the accommodation on site as promised.

The Isle of Man Home of Rest for Old Horses has therefore been ordered to pay compensation in the amount of £8,662.88, rather than £30,299.50 originally calculated.

You can find the tribunal judgement in full HERE.