Judge Rules Browsing Properties and Shopping Sites for Under an Hour at Work Not a Sackable Offence

A UK employment judge has ruled that spending less than an hour during the working day browsing property and shopping websites is not a sackable offence, and awarded an accountancy administrator more than £14,000 after finding her dismissal unfair.

Employment Judge Michael Magee said the time the worker, identified in the judgment as Ms A Lanuszka, spent on sites including Rightmove and Amazon was not "excessive" and that she had been unfairly dismissed by Accountancy MK in July 2023 after the employer used spy software to monitor her computer activity.

Judge Magee also noted that the company's owner, named in the judgment as Ms Krauze, had used a business computer for personal matters. The judge found that the timing of Ms Lanuszka's dismissal coincided with the permanent move to the UK of the business owner's sister and concluded that the owner wanted to dismiss Ms Lanuszka before she had accrued two years' service — the qualifying period at which employees in the UK can normally bring claims for unfair dismissal.

Ms Lanuszka had originally joined the firm in 2017 but signed a new contract in September 2021 when the business's name was changed. The tribunal's finding treated the later contract date as the relevant start point for continuity of service, a factor that the judge said underlay the employer's timing of the dismissal.

The tribunal recorded that the employer had relied on monitoring software to gather evidence of personal internet use during working hours. Judge Magee assessed whether the conduct amounted to gross misconduct and whether dismissal was a proportionate response. He concluded it was not and awarded Ms Lanuszka more than £14,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal.

The judgment underscores the tribunal's role in evaluating both the reasonableness of employee sanctions and the context in which employers deploy electronic monitoring. UK law requires two years' continuous service for most unfair-dismissal claims, and tribunals consider the facts of each case, including the extent of personal use, the employer's policies and practices, and whether disciplinary action is consistent and proportionate.

Accountancy MK and Ms Krauze did not respond to requests for comment in the published judgment. The decision is a reminder for employers to apply monitoring and disciplinary measures carefully and for employees to be aware of workplace policies governing personal use of company equipment.