Mr P Clarke v Marks and Spencer plc — 2023

The Claimant resigned after raising grievances about his move to the Sears store, including induction and training, workplace interactions, staffing, stacking of goods, sickness absence handling, and delay in dealing with his grievances. The tribunal accepted that the Claimant did not receive the Respondent's grievance acknowledgement letters and that communication about internal steps could have been better, but found that the Respondent was actively seeking appropriate managers and investigating the matters raised.

The tribunal found that the first grievance took longer than the Respondent's policy would normally envisage, but accepted the explanations for delay and noted that the grievance involved multiple allegations, witnesses and documents. The investigation was described as thorough and reasonable, and the grievance was partly upheld on some points, including lack of evidence that requested training on daily checks had been delivered.

Considering the alleged last straw and the earlier matters individually and cumulatively, the tribunal found no repudiatory breach of contract and no breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. The Claimant was therefore not constructively dismissed, and the complaint was dismissed.