Ms S Wiltshire v Bath Spa University Students Union, Bristol Employment Tribunal (6004196/2024)
What happened?
Ms Wiltshire (the Claimant) worked as a Senior Finance Co-ordinator for Bath Spa University Students Union (the Respondent) from April 2017. In Summer 2023, the finance systems moved from Google to Microsoft 365, and she found the change difficult. Her line manager offered support and even reassigned tasks to other members of the team, but concerns about her performance continued.
While reviewing how the team spent their time, the line manager compared the Claimant’s manual timesheets against the IT log-in records.
Over an 11-week period they found a shortfall of around 45 hours, almost all of it on days the Claimant worked from home. In one example, the Claimant recorded five hours of work in a day on her timesheet, but the IT logs showed she had been logged on for just 11 minutes.
What was claimed and what was decided?
The Respondent investigated, held a disciplinary hearing, and dismissed the Claimant for gross misconduct on 29 February 2024 for falsifying her timesheets. Her appeal was not upheld. She brought a claim for unfair dismissal.
The Tribunal dismissed the claim. Employment Judge Hallen found that the Respondent genuinely believed the Claimant had falsified her records, had reasonable grounds for that belief, and had investigated fairly. The decision to dismiss fell within the range open to a reasonable employer. Falsifying hours, the Judge noted, goes to the heart of the trust between employer and employee.
Was there a payout?
No. Because the claim failed, no compensation was payable. A genuine belief held on reasonable grounds and carefully run process meant the employer defended the claim in full, with no award against it.
What this means for employers
Trust sits at the centre of remote and hybrid working. When someone claims pay for hours they did not work, dismissal can be fair, even for a long-serving employee. What stands out here is that the employer won because of how it handled the process, not just because the conduct was serious. It gathered clear evidence, gave the Claimant chances to explain, kept investigating after the hearing, and made adjustments to the disciplinary procedure when she was signed off with stress. Together, that is what made the dismissal fair.
Top lessons for employers
- Keep good records. System and IT logs can be powerful evidence, so keep accurate records and make sure staff understand how hours are logged and checked. For additional support with this, Thrive can help, get in touch here to find out more information from our head of commercial and data consultant.
- Follow a fair process. A genuine belief in misconduct is not enough on its own. Follow your disciplinary policy and give the employee a fair chance to respond.
- Stay open minded. Test the employee’s explanations rather than brushing them aside. Here, the dismissing officer ran further checks after the hearing, which strengthened the decision.
- Support wellbeing. Where an employee is unwell, sensible adjustments to the process, such as extra time to review evidence, can help show fairness. The Respondent offered several here after the Claimant was signed off with stress.
- Be clear on conduct. If relevant to your business, consider listing falsification of records as gross misconduct in your disciplinary policy, so everyone is clear that this may lead to dismissal.
- Keep your remote teams thriving. Ensure your team feel supported when remote working. provide daily check in’s, clarity on working hours and availability and collaborate regularly to ensure concerns can be voiced effectively and the needs of all individuals are supported. Check out our blog here on remote teams and getting the balance right.
How can Thrive Law help?
We help employers handle conduct issues calmly and correctly, from investigation through to dismissal and appeal. If you are facing a timekeeping or trust problem, or want your disciplinary procedure checked before you need it, our employment team can help.
A final thought
Remote working does not have to mean less accountability. Employers who record time properly, investigate fairly, and treat people with care can act on serious misconduct with confidence, and defend sanctions if challenged.
For more case summaries like this one, check out our blogs channel, and for employment law snippets, case summaries and employment top tips, check out Jodie Hill’s YouTube Channel.
Get in touch: Contact the Thrive Law team to review your disciplinary process or talk through a live issue. Enquiries@thrivelaw.co.uk
References
- Judgment: Ms S Wiltshire v Bath Spa University Students Union (6004196/2024), gov.uk employment tribunal decisions.
- Personnel Today: WFH employee who falsified timesheets loses unfair dismissal claim.
- HR review: Tribunal rules dismissal of remote employee who falsified timesheets fair.
MILS: Two recent unfair dismissal cases, false time sheets and sleeping on the job.
