It is well established that a successful appeal against a dismissal overturns the original dismissal, effectively means that the dismissal is extinguished and no unfair dismissal claim can arise out of that dismissal.
A similar approach applies in other cases such as sex discrimination. In the recent case of Little v Richmond Pharmacology Ltd, the EAT found that a successful internal appeal against the rejection of a flexible working request remedied a prima facie case of indirect sex discrimination. The employee in that case had not suffered a detriment as a result of the original rejection of the flexible working request as the decision was subject to an appeal and made when she was on maternity leave. It was held that in line with other decisions from the EAT, a consensual appeal process forms “part and parcel of the employer’s decision making process” therefore that process cannot be judged until it has concluded.
This is well worth considering as an employer. If you hear an appeal against a decision you believe to be wrong, it is not too late to rectify the situation and make amends. Handled correctly at the appeal stage, any unfair dismissal or indirect discrimination can be extinguished.
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