[2024] UKUT 377 (AAC)

The employer at the care home, where the Appellant was employed as a team leader and care worker, received two complaints by email on the 31 March 2022, from the parents of two teenage girls, that the Appellant had been engaged in inappropriate conduct by firstly, making a Facetime call to Girl A whilst feeding a vulnerable resident and secondly, harassing the two girls, Girl A and Girl B, around the village and by text messages. The employer held meetings with the parents on the 31 March 2022 and recorded a telephone interview with one of the girls, Girl A.

On the 1 April 2022, the employer held a meeting with the Appellant to obtain his response to the evidence gathered. The Appellant was shown the video footage of the Facetime call and told of the allegations made that he had asked two girls to provide him with marijuana and asked a girl to sleep with him. The Appellant admitted the inappropriate conduct relating to the vulnerable service user and was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct. The dismissal letter provided a right of appeal to be exercised within 7 days of the date of the letter.

The Appellant did not appeal the dismissal within the seven day window granted and the employer referred the matter to the DBS on the 8 April 2022. The employer provided a transcript of the interview with the girls’ parents, the recorded conversation by telephone with Girl A and a further telephone conversation with her as evidence to the DBS with the referral form dated 8 April 2022. The employer was unable to provide a copy of the video of the Facetime call because of restrictions on the DBS email box size.

Evidence produced by the employer following the complaints by the girls’ parents included screenshots of conversations between Girl A and Girl B. The first exchange timed at 20.22 concluded as follows:

“Why did u give him ur nb silly xxx”

“I didn’t he found me on ig xx”

”Im not private on ig and he found me no clue how and he face timed me on it xx”

A subsequent screen shot timed at 20.28 states: