Dealing with Employees Who are Caught Asleep at Work

Case Study

The case

Falling asleep at work can have serious consequences, particularly in roles with high responsibility or safety implications. However, an employee who fell asleep during a night shift and subsequently misled his employer was found to have been unfairly dismissed and awarded over £20,000 in compensation. To many employers, this may seem like an unjust outcome, highlighting the importance of carefully considering the circumstances behind such incidents and following a proportionate disciplinary process.

The Details

Mr Okoro had been employed by Bidvest Noonan for 16 years, working night shifts in a shopping centre control room monitoring CCTV. On one night, during his sixth consecutive night shift, he appeared to fall asleep for around 15 minutes. When questioned, he said he had been resting his eyes and meditating, and disclosed that he had a medical condition requiring him to close his eyes. Although he agreed to an Occupational Health assessment, he refused to allow the results to be shared with his employer.

Despite his explanations, Mr Okoro was dismissed for gross misconduct. He subsequently brought a claim before the Cambridge Employment Tribunal (ET). Notably, the hearing proceeded in his absence after a last-minute postponement request was denied.

Case Study

The outcome

The ET found that Mr Okoro had been unfairly dismissed and awarded him over £20,000 in compensation.

While the employer argued that the employee’s role carried significant responsibility and that falling asleep posed potential risks, the Tribunal highlighted several mitigating factors:

Mr Okoro had 16 years of unblemished service.
His sleep was involuntary and caused no actual loss or damage.
The staff handbook did not list falling asleep as gross misconduct; the employer could not produce evidence of a different version stating otherwise.

The ET concluded that the dismissal fell outside the range of reasonable responses. Instead, a written warning would have been more proportionate, reflecting that the incident was a one-off and unintentional.

What to learn from this

This case offers several lessons for employers handling similar situations:

Keep an open mind during investigations and disciplinary processes; ensure any decision is proportionate.
Consider mitigating factors, such as medical conditions, workload, or long service.
Seek medical evidence where appropriate and consider obligations under the Equality Act. An underlying condition may explain the behaviour.
Be familiar with internal policies and avoid relying on reasons for dismissal not formally listed. Tailor policies to business risks and safety requirements.
Do not apply zero tolerance policies retrospectively or where the employee was unaware of the consequences. If certain behaviours are critical in your sector, ensure policies and training make this clear. For a related example, see our previous case study on Hewston v Ofsted.

Mr C Okoro v Bidvest Noonan (UK) Ltd: What does the law say about employees who fall asleep at work?

The case

The Details

The outcome

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