UK: dismissal of trade union representative for misuse of confidential information automatically unfair

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the protection against unfair dismissal for taking part in trade union activities should be interpreted broadly and will not necessarily fall away where the activity involves misconduct. In Morris v Metrolink a trade union representative unlawfully retained confidential information that had been obtained without consent and sent to him anonymously, and then shared it with HR on the basis that it contained detrimental information about union members involved in a restructuring exercise. The Court of Appeal concluded that the wrongfulness of his conduct was not sufficient departure from good industrial relations practice to take it outside of protected trade union activity and therefore his dismissal for that conduct was automatically unfair. Employers should consider carefully all the circumstances of any misconduct connected with trade union activity before determining whether to discipline or dismiss, bearing in mind the wide scope of the special protection.