Dismissal in connection with criminal offences

Inside employment

As explained before (see What is reasonable procedure and sufficient reason for dismissing an employee?), for a dismissal to be fair the employer must not only have a valid reason for the dismissal, but must also act reasonably. In a case in which the employee is suspected of a criminal offence, the test is whether the employer genuinely believed on reasonable grounds that the applicant was guilty of the offence in question and not, as in a criminal court, whether it is established beyond all reasonable doubt that the employee is guilty of the particular matter with which charged. Belief on reasonable grounds in this context will normally involve proper inquiries into the matter on the part of the employer. If the employer conducts such inquiries and gives the employee an opportunity to explain what has happened and then has reasonable grounds for coming to the conclusion that the employee can no longer be retained, the tribunal will usually find that the employer acted reasonably even if the employee is subsequently acquitted by a criminal court of the offence in question. On the other hand, if the employer dismisses the employee without making proper inquiries or giving the employee an opportunity to explain, the tribunal may well find that the employer acted unreasonably and that the dismissal was unfair.

Outside employment

The question of criminal offences outside employment is dealt with by the ACAS Code of Practice : Appendix 2 'Dealing with special situations'