An IT manager at the centre of a dispute with the Williams
Formula 1 Racing Team was unfairly dismissed by his employers,
according to an employment tribunal.
Andrew Hope, who had worked for Williams for
17 years and reported directly to technical director Patrick Head,
was dismissed from his £120,000 a year job in July 2002 without
going through the formal dismissal procedure, the panel said.
However, although the tribunal said the
Williams team had acted “naively”, it refused to award Hope any
compensation because of his “high level of incompetence” at
managing Williams’ IT support unit.
The tribunal was particularly critical of
Hope's approach to software licensing. "It is such a basic matter
that licences are required for the use of software that the failure
to ensure these matters were kept up to date demonstrates real
incompetence," the panel said in its written decision.
During the week-long hearing, the tribunal
heard that Hope’s role as manager had already been diluted when an
independent audit that was initiated after staff complaints and
resignations concluded he would bully staff and not listen to
them.
Hope told the panel he had not been told there
were any problems with his management style. The panel also heard
that Hope retained 200 important documents belongong to Williams
after he was dismiised. It concluded that Hope had, in the main,
been responsible for his own departure.
“If any fair procedure had been carried out,
such as a formal hearing, the tribunal is satisfied that would make
no difference to the conclusion that trust and confidence in the
applicant had broken down,” the panel said.
Williams Formula 1 Racing Team and Hope were
unavailable for comment.