Mrs J Scott v Delves Court Care Home Limited — 2022

Mrs J Scott was employed as care home manager at Delves Court. The case arose from the respondent's concerns about IPC grant spending, receipts, costed rotas and card transactions. The tribunal heard extensive evidence about the Equals card, a B&Q card, Mascot Homes work, Cannock Care purchases and record-keeping. It also noted that the claimant had previously withdrawn a disability discrimination complaint on 6 July 2022, which the judgment records as having been dismissed by separate judgment sent on 22 December 2022.

On whistleblowing, the tribunal found that the claimant did not make protected disclosures on 12 or 21 October 2021. It preferred CH's evidence that no concerns about grant misuse were raised at the 12 October meeting and found that the alleged 21 October meeting did not take place. The handwritten note said to record that meeting was treated as troubling and unreliable. The tribunal accepted that the claimant later expressed concerns in text messages on 22 and 25 October 2021, but those later communications were not the protected disclosures relied upon in the claim.

The tribunal held that the claimant was constructively dismissed and therefore unfairly dismissed. It found that the respondent excluded her from the 22 October 2021 investigation into the costed rota and receipt issues, and then suspended her on 25 October 2021 without pay and without giving any proper explanation for stopping pay. The tribunal held there was no reasonable and proper cause for unpaid suspension and that the claimant resigned in response to those breaches on 28 October 2021. No Polkey reduction or contributory fault reduction was made, and the tribunal found that a 25% uplift under the ACAS Code applied.

The automatic unfair dismissal complaint under s.103A ERA 1996 and the detriment complaints under ss.47B and 48 ERA 1996 were dismissed because there were no qualifying protected disclosures. The tribunal also rejected the proposition that the later reports to the police and the NMC, or the decision to withhold salary, were acts done on the ground of protected disclosure.

On wrongful dismissal and the money claims, the tribunal found that the respondent had not proved gross misconduct. It did not accept that the claimant had been shown to have dishonestly misused the Equals card, B&Q card, Mascot Homes payments, Cannock Care payments, occupancy figures or safe money. It held that the contractual 12-week notice period was not paid, upheld the claim for unauthorised deductions from wages for 1 to 28 October 2021, and upheld the holiday pay claim. Remedy, including the quantum of notice pay, wages and holiday pay, was left to a later hearing.