Case study
Appealing a dismissal for sexual harassment: when the process has to hold
How specialist trauma-informed expertise produced a defensible appeal outcome in a contested sexual misconduct case that went on to litigation.
The situation
We were instructed by another HR consultant acting for a national organisation. They recognised that this case demanded specialist expertise in sexual misconduct and trauma-informed practice, and that their client's exposure was significant.
A senior executive had been dismissed following allegations of sexual harassment of a junior employee. The alleged conduct took place at a work social event, not work itself, but unmistakably connected to it. Alcohol was involved. The executive was appealing the dismissal during a period of significant corporate change, when the individual was feeling acutely vulnerable and the organisation was under intense internal scrutiny. The stakes could hardly have been higher for anyone involved.
The complexity
The complainant's feelings about the case had changed several times as it progressed. Her account of the events had not.
The complainant's feelings about the case changed several times. Her account of the events did not.
To a conventional investigator, that shifting emotional position can look like unreliability. It is one of the most common ways complainants are quietly disbelieved. We recognised it for what it was: entirely consistent with well-documented victim behaviour in cases involving power dynamics and sexual misconduct. A junior employee, an alcohol-fuelled social event, a senior executive, and an organisation in flux. The ambivalence was not evidence of a weak case. It was evidence of how power operates.
Reading that correctly changed the direction of the appeal.
The approach
We initiated a robust reinvestigation into the specific matters that required further examination. We applied trauma-informed practice throughout, weighing the evidence with an understanding of how memory, disclosure and behaviour operate under stress and under power imbalance, without ever allowing that understanding to substitute for rigour.
We tested the account. We examined the process that preceded us. We considered the conduct at the social event and its connection to the workplace, and the role alcohol played in it. We kept the dignity of every party intact throughout, including the appellant.
Because we knew this case would not end with us, everything was documented to a standard that would survive external scrutiny.
The outcome
We upheld the original decision to dismiss.
More importantly, we delivered a process, a written report, and a verbally facilitated outcome that were robust and defensible in equal measure. When the case progressed to litigation, that work proved decisive for our client. The quality of the process was not a formality. It was the defence.
What this case shows
Appeals in sexual misconduct cases are frequently where organisations lose. Not because the original decision was wrong, but because the process could not withstand scrutiny, or because someone misread ordinary victim behaviour as inconsistency and unpicked a sound decision.
Work social events are a particular risk. Not work, but connected to it, and often where alcohol, seniority and power converge.
Specialist expertise is not a luxury in cases like this. It is what stands between a defensible outcome and a costly one. It is also why HR consultants and employment solicitors refer these cases to us.
If you are facing a contested appeal, a complex sexual misconduct case, or an investigation likely to be litigated, involve an independent specialist early.
Facing a complex or sensitive disciplinary, grievance or investigation?
Talk to our team. There is no obligation, and no sales script.