Dismissal upheld as fair despite procedural gaps

Articles  |   26 January 2026

Written by
Jack Chapman, Trainee Solicitor

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that a dismissal can still be fair even where there are imperfections in the wider investigation, provided the specific disciplinary allegations relied upon are properly put, investigated and decided.  This was the decision in the case of Alom v Financial Conduct Authority [2025] EAT 138 (published on 30 September 2025).  Employment trainee, Jack Chapman explains more in his article.

The claim

Mr Alom, an employee of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), was initially investigated in relation to a wide range of allegations made by a colleague. Ultimately, only two allegations proceeded to a disciplinary hearing that he had:

  • sent an anonymous harassing email to the colleague

  • breached confidentiality by referring to the outcome of a separate internal investigation in an email.

He denied sending the anonymous email but was found, after a disciplinary process, to have done so and was dismissed for gross misconduct. His internal appeal was unsuccessful.

He then brought claims of unfair dismissal, race discrimination, harassment and victimisation, all of which were dismissed by the Employment Tribunal. He appealed to the EAT, arguing amongst other things that:

  • he had not been provided with full transcripts of investigatory interviews

  • the dismissing officer had used an HR-prepared script, allegedly showing predetermination

  • part of the evidence-gathering involved a computer search which he said infringed his privacy rights. 

The decision

The EAT dismissed the appeal and upheld the finding of fair dismissal. It made three key points:

  1. No right to every investigatory document including interview transcripts

  • The interview transcripts concerned wider, unpursued allegations  - they weren’t relied on and they weren’t provided to the disciplinary hearing manager. The email content was the focus

  • For the two charges actually pursued (the anonymous email and the confidentiality breach), Mr Alom had sufficient information and documentation to understand and answer the case against him. Reference to the ACAS Code of Practice gave guidance that supported this

  • The failure to provide full transcripts did not undermine the overall fairness of the disciplinary process.

  1. HR scripts are not inherently improper

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