An employment tribunal has wholly rejected a claim brought against Okell’s Inns by a former employee.
Paul Miller, who worked as general manager at The British in Douglas, alleged he was unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about fire safety and reporting misconduct by a colleague.
The tribunal ruled his dismissal resulted from his failure to obtain a required licence, not his whistleblowing.
Mr Miller, employed for less than a year, claimed his protected disclosures led to his termination.
However, the tribunal stated, “The reason for dismissal was because of Mr Miller’s failure to get a licence. This was a genuine, serious and indeed fundamental problem for the respondent.”
Police
The case hinged on Mr Miller’s undisclosed spent conviction, which prompted the Police to oppose his application to become a responsible person, a mandatory qualification for his role.
The tribunal found: “Careful reading of the statutory and regulatory provisions should have put him on clear notice that he had to disclose his spent conviction.”
While accepting Miller’s fire safety concerns were raised in good faith, the tribunal said: “There was not a shred of evidence that suggested anybody had taken umbrage at him fulfilling his duty.”
Regarding the misconduct report, the tribunal found the company acted appropriately, with the accused employee later resigning.
Okell’s Inns argued Mr Miller’s inability to secure a licence made his position unsustainable, a position the tribunal, chaired by Douglas Stewart, agreed with.
It said: “The company could not be expected to continue to employ someone at the rank of General Manager with no licence.”
The complaint was dismissed unanimously.
You can find the full ruling here.
Other reports on the Employment Tribunal can be found here.
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