In this case, the Production Manager at one of our clients was displaying bizarre behaviour in the workplace which included ‘acting out’ shooting scenarios in front of staff, stabbing storage boxes with a large pair of scissors, shouting and using abusive language in front of staff while foaming at the mouth and throwing stock items at a member of staff. The individual concerned had also embarked on a campaign of sending threatening and abusive text messages to Managing Director in which he made threats against his boss’s wife and children. The police became involved and a restraining order obtained. The employee concerned made excuses to the effect that he was suffering from extreme stress because of financial difficulty and problems in his relationship with his partner. He produced a hospital report in support of this claim. Unfortunately for him, the A&E Registrar had noted on his report that upon his examination of the individual he had identified evidence of excessive and long-term amphetamine usage. This presented a more plausible reason for the employee’s behaviour and, following a disciplinary meeting, he was summarily dismissed on the grounds of Gross Misconduct.
