29/01/1987

Ford Motor Company v. Nawaz

Uncategorized

Employment Appeal Tribunal

Discovery in unfair dismissal proceedings is not necessarily restricted to material available to the manager who took the decision to dismiss at the time he took it. N was consistently absent from work, ostensibly due to ill-health. He agreed to be examined by the employer's doctor, who declared him fit to return to work. When N continued to be absent, the employer's production manager dismissed him. In proceedings for unfair dismissal an order was made for discovery of the doctor's notes. The employer appealed on the grounds that these were documents which the manager himself had not seen when he took the decision to dismiss.
HELD: that discovery of such documents were necessary for the fair disposal of the matter and the appeal would be dismissed.

[1987] IRLR 163