A woman with 30 years of experience handling customer complaints at Sky was terminated for repeatedly disconnecting calls and pretending they were accidentally cut off. Lorraine Hunter, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, was found to have abruptly ended seven calls by falsely claiming they were technical issues. The company’s investigation revealed that disconnecting a call required deliberate action, leading to her dismissal for gross misconduct in November 2024.
Hunter, responsible for resolving issues and managing high-profile customers, failed to call back customers after abruptly ending calls. Despite her claims of technical errors, recordings of the suspicious calls confirmed her deliberate actions. Following a conduct meeting where the calls were played back to her, she was formally dismissed for breaching company policies and posing a risk to customer service.
Despite appealing the decision and attributing the disconnections to technical glitches, an employment tribunal ruled in favor of Sky, upholding the dismissal. Employment Judge Michelle Sutherland deemed Sky’s decision fair and reasonable, stating that the company had sufficient grounds to believe Hunter intentionally disconnected calls. Sky’s comprehensive investigation and adherence to disciplinary procedures were considered appropriate, resulting in the dismissal being upheld. Hunter’s claim of unfair dismissal was consequently dismissed.