Pawel Ignatowicz

Case Summary

The claimant was dismissed for Facebook posts relating to a workplace grievance. The Employment Tribunal found the dismissal unfair and ordered reinstatement with a 10% contributory fault reduction. The EAT upheld the unfair dismissal finding but found error in law regarding the assessment of contributory conduct and the appropriateness of ordering reinstatement, remitting the matter to the Employment Tribunal for reconsideration including the freedom of expression issue.

The EAT found the Employment Tribunal erred in law by: (1) failing to adequately consider all relevant posts and conduct when assessing contributory fault, limiting analysis to only the fact of posting the grievance content without proper consideration of additional inflammatory language; (2) failing to consider whether the claimant's qualified right to freedom of expression should affect its approach; and (3) not properly applying section 116 ERA requirements when ordering reinstatement despite finding contributory conduct.

• •Whether the Employment Tribunal erred in its assessment of contributory conduct
• •Whether reinstatement was an appropriate remedy
• •Whether the tribunal should have considered the claimant's qualified right to freedom of expression
• •Whether conduct occurring after dismissal but before appeal rejection can be considered in contributory fault analysis
• •The scope and application of sections 122(2) and 123(6) of the Employment Rights Act 1996

Judgment approved by the court for handing down DHL v Ignatowicz © EAT 2026 Page 1 [2026] EAT 74 Neutral Citation Number: [2026] EAT 74 Case No: EA-2025-000787-BA EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL Rolls Building Fetter Lane London, EC4A 1NL Date: 22 May 2026 Before : HIS HONOUR JUDGE JAMES TAYLER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between : DHL Services Limited Appellant - and - Pawel Ignatowicz Respondent - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Victoria Brown (instructed by DAC Beachcroft LLP) for the Appellant Pawel Ignatowicz the Appellant in person Hearing date: 6 May 2026 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JUDGMENT Judgment approved by the court for handing down DHL v Ignatowicz © EAT 2026 Page 2 [2026] EAT 74 SUMMARY Unfair Dismissal The Employment Tribunal held that the claimant had been unfairly dismissed as a result of posts relating to a workplace grievance he made on Facebook. The Employment Tribunal found that the claimant had contributed to his dismissal by 10% and ordered reinstatement. The Employment Tribunal did not consider whether the qualified right to freedom of expression should affect its approach. The Employment Tribunal erred in law in its assessment of contributory conduct and whether to order reinstatement. The relevant legal principles are considered. The matter was remitted to the Employment Tribunal, including the freedom of expression issue. Judgment approved by the court for handing down DHL v Ignatowicz © EAT 2026 Page 3 [2026] EAT 74 HIS HONOUR JUDGE JAMES TAYLER: The issues 1. The issues in this appeal are whether the Employment Tribunal erred in its assessment of contributory conduct and by ordering reinstatement of the claimant who was unfairly dismissed because of posts on Facebook. The judgment…