Help!

[Sussexbelle73]

My DH has just been dismissed from his job - its very harsh and he is going to appeal as he had been in the company 10 years and made one mistake to do with health & safety.
Anyway, all that aside, I am trying to remain calm but freaking out more about how he is going to deal with dismissal when applying for othee jobs?
AIBU to panic?

How big was the mistake? Big enough to amount gross misconduct?

Just asking because if he has a completely clean record otherwise, he should only be up for immediate dismissal (in most industries) if he does something that's considered gross misconduct. He should win any appeal otherwise.

Is he with a union?

It can't have been a trivial mistake if he's been dismissed immediately instead of getting a warning and/or retraining. Has anyone been hurt through his mistake?

If he acknowledges the mistake when applying it will be up to the employer whether it rules him out. H and S issues are difficult to ignore especially if the potential consequences are serious and the buck has to rest with someone, presumably him in this instance. Has he spoken to ACAS?

Noone was hurt but the potential was there hence the gross misconduct. I feel really sorry for him as he had 10 years clean slate but the employer was uncompromising. He was stressed with work pressures but they refused to take that into account. He had a union rep with him and he was shocked at the harshness- he expected a written warning due to previous good conduct.
I am trying not to freak out but I am!