Dismissing for gross misconduct: lessons from Langton v Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue

In Langton v Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue, an experienced firefighter was dismissed immediately after making a misogynistic comment. He said that a woman he rescued looked “haggard for her age.”

The tribunal decided that the dismissal was unfair.

How to carry out a fair dismissal

When you dismiss someone for misconduct, you must follow a 3-step test from the case BHS v Burchell.  You must:

1. Genuinely believe the employee committed misconduct
2. Have reasonable grounds for that belief
3. Carry out a reasonable investigation

Even if these are met, the dismissal must still fall within a ‘band of reasonable responses’ – meaning it is a decision a reasonable employer could make in the same situation.

You must also show that a fair process was followed

3 mistakes the employer made

They made 3 key mistakes:

1. Relying on an expired warning

They used a “Note for File” from five years earlier.  Their own policy said this should be ignored after six months.

2. Misusing performance records

They treated Personal Development Plans (PDPs) as evidence of misconduct.
But PDPs are not disciplinary records—and one even described the employee as a high performer.

3. Confusing performance issues with misconduct

They relied on past competence concerns as if they were misconduct, which was incorrect.

These errors made the dismissal unfair, even though the misogynistic comment itself was inappropriate.

A partial win for the employer

Even though the tribunal found it was unfair dismissal, they said that dismissing the employee for the comment alone could have been reasonable.

This was because:

• They carried out a thorough investigation
• There was strong evidence about the impact of the comment

Compensation reduced – contributory fault

Because the tribunal agreed that misconduct did occur, it reduced the employee’s compensation by 65%.

This is the principle of contributory fault – the idea that the employee’s own actions helped cause their dismissal.

Tips for HR

Even if misconduct is serious, a dismissal can still be unfair if:

• old or irrelevant evidence is used
• evidence is misinterpreted
• a fair process is not followed

You must get both the decision and the process right.

Further reading:

• Disciplinary Procedure – ACAS
• Consider-allegations-separately-in-gross-misconduct-cases – March 2026 – Hunter Law
• Unfair Dismissal: compensation should be fair and proportionate – contributory fault – Feb 2026 – Hunter Law
• How to handle disciplinary hearings if the employee is off sick – Nov 2024 – Hunter Law

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