Miss M Atkinson v The Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Scripture Reading Association — 2022

Miss Atkinson was employed by SASRA from 1 September 1974 to 31 December 2021 as a Scripture Reader. She resigned on 27 December 2021 with effect from 31 December 2021 and brought claims for unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal; the separate claim for failure to provide written particulars of employment was withdrawn. The tribunal approached the case as a constructive dismissal claim, applying section 95(1)(c) ERA 1996 and the authorities cited in the reasons, including Western Excavating, Buckland, Kaur, Mahmud and Malik, Omilaju and Williams.

The tribunal rejected the alleged breaches relied on by the claimant. It found that SASRA did not prevent her returning from furlough until October 2020 because Mr Fawcett had not met her; rather, she remained furloughed because she was over 70 and treated as clinically vulnerable under government guidance. It accepted that Mr Hill first raised concerns about her independent working style at the 2 December 2020 meeting and that the discussion caused upset, but it did not find that he acted aggressively, humiliatingly or without reasonable and proper cause. The tribunal also held that the later grievance outcome, the failure to implement the mediator and independent-monitor recommendations, the IT arrangements, and the October 2021 instructions to work closely with chaplaincy did not amount to repudiatory breaches, individually or cumulatively.

The tribunal found there had been a serious breakdown in the working relationship, but not a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. It concluded that SASRA was entitled to require a more collegiate way of working and that the claimant was not constructively dismissed. The unfair dismissal claim therefore failed, and the wrongful dismissal claim also failed because there was no constructive dismissal entitling her to resign without notice.