Dismissal must be ‘caused’ by taking paternity leave for there to be a claim
In Atkins v Coyle Personnel plc, the EAT held that for the reason for dismissal to be connected with the fact that an employee took, or sought to take, paternity leave, more than an association with the paternity leave is needed. There must be a causal connection between the reason for the dismissal and the paternity leave.
It was agreed that Mr Atkins (A) could take a week’s paid leave, provided that he remained contactable. He did some work on two days of the leave. A possible client booking came in for which A had formulated the initial proposal. A’s manager tried to contact him at home but was told A was asleep. Pressure was put on A’s partner to wake him up. Later that day A emailed his manager saying, among other things, that he had been pushed too far and was upset and tired. The manager responded by saying he was disappointed that contact had not been made with the client. A heated telephone call followed which ended with the manager effectively telling A that he was sacked. A claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed for a reason connected with taking paternity leave.
The tribunal found that the reason for the dismissal was not connected with the fact that he was on paternity leave, but was due to the manager’s frustration with A’s’ attitude. The EAT agreed. For the reason for dismissal to be connected with the fact that an employee took, or sought to take, paternity leave, more than an association with the paternity leave is needed. There must be a causal connection between the reason for the dismissal and the paternity leave. The fact that an employee was on paternity leave when he was dismissed was not sufficient to demonstrate a causal connection between the two.
Atkins v Coyle Personnel plc EAT/0206/07
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