- Colin Bastin did not realise that “TS” stood for Top Secret
A counter-terror police officer who was sacked after he forgot his headphones was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Colin Bastin had been given a private room by a librarian to dial in to a call which he had been unable to take from home because of ‘noisy’ building works.
He claimed there were no police stations ‘within easy access of his home’ where he could go for the meeting, the tribunal heard.
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office worker reportedly made a number of other mistakes during his probationary period, including accidentally booking a ‘top secret’ security level room for a team meeting which would have excluded one of the delegates.
A London Central employment tribunal heard Mr Bastin joined the police unit – which advises government and industry on protecting against terrorism – in September 2021.
His delivery support officer role was subject to him passing his probation, which was twice extended because of ‘concerns about his progress’, the tribunal was told.
In April 2023, Mr Bastin was required to be on a ‘sensitive and confidential call’, but there were building works going on at his home ‘which he thought would be too noisy’.
A written decision from the tribunal said: ‘There is a public library with WiFi near to his home and he decided to take the call there.
A counter-terror police officer who was sacked after he forgot his headphones was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled (file image)
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office worker reportedly made a number of other mistakes during his probationary period (file image)
‘Unfortunately, he forgot to take his headphones when he left home.
‘He asked a librarian if there was anywhere quiet that he could take the call and she gave him a private room.
‘He accepts that it was his mistake not to bring the headphones. Although he agrees that he could have gone to a police station for the call, there are none within easy access of his home.’
In February 2024, Mr Bastin was asked to book a room for a team meeting.
‘He looked online at the available rooms and selected a room “TS – Auditorium”,’ the tribunal heard.
‘He did not realise that TS stood for top secret.
‘One of the delegates was unable to access top secret locations so it would have been embarrassing if the meeting had gone ahead in that room as she would have been excluded.’
In April 2024, Mr Bastin was told he was facing dismissal and was invited to a meeting.
A written decision from the tribunal said: ‘He asked a librarian if there was anywhere quiet that he could take the call and she gave him a private room’ (file image)
He gathered evidence to show his performance had improved, but was told managers would only be considering his performance up to the end of the extended probationary period, which ended in early 2023.
After taking his employer to an employment tribunal, a judge ruled his original dismissal was unfair because it was based on ‘out-of-date information’.
‘Mr Bastin’s performance, which was the reason for dismissal, had been assessed over a fixed period that had ended over a year before the decision was taken,’ the judge said.
‘It was unfair not to allow him to bring evidence of his recent improvement.
‘In conclusion, I find that the dismissal was unfair and outside the band of reasonable responses.’
A hearing to decide how much compensation Mr Bastin should receive will be held at a later date.
