Worker who went into ‘diabetic rage’ wins unfair dismissal claim

An employee at a biscuit factory who threatened a colleague while in a diabetic rage has won his claim of unfair dismissal.

Mr Dytkowski began working for Brand FB’s biscuit factory in 2009.

He was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes in March 2018, which he described as a “difficult diagnosis to accept and manage”.

Occupational Health staff helped Dytkowski adapt by making adjustments for him including short breaks to check his blood sugar, regular eating times and time off to attend appointments.

A series of incidents followed in which Dytkowski displayed aggressive behaviour and language culminating in an altercation where he grabbed and pushed a colleague and shouted in Polish, “say that to me again and I’ll smash your ****ing face. Now get out of my ****ing face”.

The incident resulted in Dytkowski being suspended and a disciplinary process was put in place.

Throughout, Dytkowski admitted his behaviour had been unacceptable but said it was due to his struggle to control his blood sugar level fluctuations caused by his diabetes, which had also reduced his pancreas efficiency.

Production manager Mr Bourne said that he “didn’t think the diabetes had an influence on the incident” and dismissed Dytkowski for gross misconduct.

The Employment Tribunal upheld Dytkowski’s claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination.

Employment Judge Joanne Dunlop said Dytkowski had been “an entirely honest witness” and that his medical struggles with his diabetes was “not something that can be lightly disregarded”.

She added that a final written warning would have been a more proportionate response and that there had been “no focus on whether any risk of recurrence could be reduced or managed”.

Dytkowski’s compensation was reduced by 30 per cent to account for his behaviour.

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Case No: 2402856/2019 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS Mr P Dytkowski v Brand FB Ltd Manchester Employment Tribunal On: 21, 22 and 23 June 2020 Employment Judge Dunlop