'A sham' | Charity admits HR failings after dismissing employee of 22 years

A conservation charity admitted its HR processes fell short after a tribunal ruled it had unfairly dismissed a long-serving employee.

The Hawk and Owl Trust accepted its processes “did not meet the required standards of fairness” after Nigel Middleton was ruled to have been wrongly offboarded, following a series of serious procedural failings.

The ruling centred on whether Mr Middleton’s dismissal was a genuine redundancy or an attempt to remove him for other reasons. The panel found there was no redundancy situation and that the organisation’s senior leaders had predetermined the outcome.

Tribunal calls redundancy rationale a “sham”

Mr Middleton had worked for the Hawk and Owl Trust since 2001, before a redundancy process in May 2023. However, the tribunal found that the explanation given for his removal was not credible.