The Claimant was dismissed by the Respondent for gross misconduct, and successfully brought proceedings for unfair dismissal. The ET made a basic award and a compensatory award, but reduced both awards by 15% to reflect contributory fault on the part of the Claimant. The Respondent appealed in relation to the basic award, arguing that the ET should have considered further allegations of misconduct by the Claimant, which would have led to a greater, or even total, reduction of the basic award.

The EAT held that the ET took into account the relevant conduct of the Claimant and, balancing the factors for and against the significant reduction in the award, it opted for 15%. While a higher figure might also have been justifiable, it was not possible to conclude that 15% was manifestly less than should have been applied as a reduction.