Argence-Lafon v Ark Syndicate Management Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ

Your HR appeal process can’t get you out of a bad investigation that was never fair in the first place

Olivier Argence-Lafon was a senior underwriter at Ark Syndicate Management. After he raised concerns about what he believed was a fraudulent insurance claim, he was placed on a formal Performance Improvement Plan and, in August 2021, dismissed for an alleged breakdown of trust and confidence and a failure to engage with the plan. The Employment Tribunal upheld his complaint of unfair dismissal. It found that Ark had never investigated whether the performance objectives it had set for him were reasonable or achievable, and had never given him advance notice that an alleged breakdown of trust and confidence would be relied on as a reason for dismissal.
 
The Employment Appeal Tribunal took a different view, holding that Mr Argence-Lafon’s internal appeal against dismissal could have cured those procedural failings. On 4 August 2026, the Court of Appeal disagreed and restored the Tribunal’s finding of unfair dismissal. The Court of Appeal held that while an internal appeal can sometimes remedy a specific procedural gap, such as a lack of notice of a particular allegation, it cannot manufacture a fair investigation that was never carried out in the first place.
 
In my own investigation work, I see this played out again and again. The quality of the initial investigation cannot be outsourced to a later appeal. If the groundwork is not done properly the first time, if objectives are not tested for reasonableness, if the real case against someone is not put to them clearly and in good time, no amount of polish at the appeal stage will make the outcome fair or defensible. Get the investigation right at the outset, because there may be no fixing it afterwards.

Argence-Lafon v Ark Syndicate Management Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 1039

Judgment: https://lnkd.in/eKSajsTU