Note: Anyone with even a passing knowledge of employment law would know that sacking 16 people summarily would almost certainly result in a serious claim against the employer. It is possible to summarily dismiss an employee
for gross misconduct , eg for proven theft from an employer, but it would, even in these pc days, be difficult to sack 16 employees on grounds based on complaints of racism. . . Moreover, in this particular situation there were no clear and proven offences offered as the grounds for dismissal.

Why did the Yorkshire board allow themselves to be bounced into this disastrous course of action? I offer the fear which political correctness engenders. Even if a board member could see the dangers of accepting allegations against their staff I suspect that they were intimidated into going along with Lord |Patel's reckless behavior.

The ultimate consequence of this mess is that Yorkshire will probably face claims running into many millions of pounds. Their settlement with the men who kicked off this business Azeem Rafiq is reputed to be £200k and this sum will probably act as a benchmark for the type of settlements the 16 will receive.
RH

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2022/09/16/lord-patel-facing-calls-resign-yorkshire-staff-morale-hits-rock/
Yorkshire threaten to renege on agreement to pay off Andrew Gale
Club refuses to sign legally-binding deal with sacked head coach as Lord Patel faces calls to resign as chairman

ByBen Rumsby
16 September 2022 • 1:37pm
Yorkshire have dramatically threatened to renege on their agreement to pay off Andrew Gale the day after announcing they had ended their toxic legal battle with their sacked head coach.

The Telegraph has been told the crisis county have refused to sign a legally-binding deal to compensate Gale to the tune of six figures, which would see them avoid a damaging public hearing into the racism scandal to engulf the club.

Yorkshire, who announced on Thursday that they had struck deals with both Gale and former bowling coach Richard Pyrah, did not respond to requests for comment on their failure to rubber-stamp the former’s agreement.

There has been no suggestion Pyrah’s deal went unsigned as part of a series of pay-offs that may end up costing the club almost £2 million.

The latest twist in the months-long saga came after Lord Patel faced calls to resign as Yorkshire chairman from two of his predecessors over his handling of the sacking of the club’s entire coaching team.d

The life peer’s position looked more in jeopardy than ever following the county’s announcement they had paid off the last of seven former staff members suing them over December’s mass cull at Headingley.

Calls for Lord Patel’s head were led by Robin Smith and Steve Denison, the latter branding the current chairman’s position “completely untenable” as well as demanding the resignation of other board members behind the club’s response to their racism scandal.

Lord Patel has repeatedly threatened to quit Yorkshire amid a major backlash against December’s decision and the Telegraph has been told he could step down once a separate legal case involving the dismissal of subcontracted staff was resolved.

But Smith and Denison called for him to go now after the club was forced to pay out much of the £1.9 million they set aside to fund their response to unfair dismissal and other claims they ultimately chose to settle.

Smith, a two-time Yorkshire chairman who led a doomed revolt against governance reforms at Headingley earlier this year, said: “An organisation, which, led by Lord Patel, sacks 16 people summarily at one moment and, within a few months, decides they had no case for doing so, is an organisation that is so badly led that it’s leader should no longer hold the office. He should resign.”

Read more at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2022/

RH 09/16/lord-patel-facing-calls-resign-yorkshire-staff-morale-hits-rock/