Nurse dismissed after stroke: procedural unfairness in redeployment process

A stroke, a career break, and a failed redeployment

This case shows what can happen when a long-serving employee becomes unable to do their job due to a serious health condition. The nurse, who had worked for the trust for 21 years, suffered a stroke in 2015 and took a three-year career break to rehabilitate. When he was ready to return, he could no longer work as a nurse but was keen to take on a clerical role. The trust placed him on its redeployment register and interviewed him for two positions, but both were deemed unsuitable due to his mobility and communication difficulties.

The redeployment period was extended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but eventually the trust dismissed him without holding a final meeting or sending a formal dismissal letter. That procedural shortfall proved fatal to the trust's case.

What the trust could have done differently

The tribunal accepted that the trust had genuine capability concerns and that no suitable alternative role existed. However, the lack of a final meeting meant the employee was denied the chance to make representations before the decision was made. A simple step — holding a meeting and issuing a letter — would have made the dismissal fair. The trust also failed to consider an updated occupational health report that the employee had offered to obtain.

Why the result matters

This case is a reminder that even when an employer believes dismissal is inevitable, the process still matters. The trust's failure to follow its own procedures turned what might have been a fair dismissal into an unfair one. However, the employee's compensation was limited because the tribunal found that a fair process would have led to the same outcome just a few weeks later. The disability discrimination claims failed because the trust had made reasonable efforts to find alternative work and had not treated the employee unfavourably because of his disability.