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'
What
is employers-solicitors ?