William Grant & Sons (Distillers) Ltd v Stuart 9 June 1998 CS

Misconduct: Dismissal for sleeping on duty was unfair

Date:

15 January 1999

An employee found sleeping while on weekend working duty was unfairly dismissed, in circumstances where the employer practised a relaxed working regime which permitted employees to come and go as they pleased so long as their work was completed within their shift, holds the Inner House of the Court of Session in William Grant & Sons (Distillers) Ltd v Stuart. The employment tribunal's finding that, by sleeping on duty, the employee had put at "potential risk" an effluent plant which required checking, was flawed and unsupported by the evidence. In those circumstances, the EAT had been correct to substitute a finding of unfair dismissal for the tribunal's decision.