Case 1400798/2024 · Employment Tribunal
Ms Clare Mansell v Little Bakery Company Limited — 2024
- Case reference
- 1400798/2024
- Decision date
- 21 November 2024
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Elizabeth Gibson
- Venue
- Exeter
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Ms Clare Mansell
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningMs Clare Mansell worked for Little Bakery Company Limited at the Bakery on the Water from 19 October 2015 until her resignation on 4 December 2023, with employment ending on 31 December 2023 after notice. The tribunal heard that her mother became seriously ill at the end of October 2023, that Mr Alexander Clavel exchanged a series of WhatsApp messages with her about staffing and leave, and that she met him on 1 December 2023 to discuss her role before resigning by WhatsApp the next day.
On the constructive dismissal claim, the tribunal applied the Malik test and considered whether the respondent had, without reasonable and proper cause, acted in a way likely to destroy or seriously damage trust and confidence. It found the respondent had not unilaterally changed Ms Mansell's terms and conditions: the duties list discussed on 1 December 2023 reflected responsibilities the tribunal found were broadly consistent with her assistant manager role, and the respondent's message showed support and willingness to find another role if needed. The tribunal also found that the WhatsApp messages asking how long she would need off work did not amount to undue pressure or imply she would lose her job.
The tribunal held that Ms Mansell was not constructively dismissed under s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996 because there was no fundamental breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence, no entitlement to treat the contract as at an end, and she resigned of her own volition. On holiday pay, it found she had taken 26 days' annual leave in the 2023 holiday year against an entitlement of 22.5 days, so she had no accrued but untaken leave outstanding when her employment ended and the unauthorised deduction claim failed.
Claims and outcomes
2 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructive dismissal | The tribunal treated this as a constructive unfair dismissal claim under s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996 and rejected both the alleged unilateral contract changes and the allegation of undue pressure. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Unlawful deduction from wages | The complaint concerned unpaid accrued annual leave at termination; the tribunal found the claimant had taken 26 days' leave against an entitlement of 22.5 days, so no sum was due. | Dismissed | — | — |
Legal tests applied
5 references- Western Excavating (ECC) Limited v Sharp
- Malik Test
- s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996
- s.98(4) ERA 1996
- s.13(3) ERA 1996
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
Named in this case and want it removed? Submit a takedown request. The page will be withdrawn on receipt and the editor will follow up within five working days.