Aiden McCarthy-Paul v Mayday Personnel Services Ltd — 2021

The claimant, Aiden McCarthy-Paul, resigned on 30 September 2020 after returning from furlough on a two-days-a-week flexi-furlough basis. The tribunal accepted that there had been little meaningful communication while she was furloughed, that her return on 15 July 2020 was not well prepared, and that she was told to focus on new business development rather than her previous role as Industrial Manager. It also accepted that Mr Carter used offensive language on 30 July 2020 and that the claimant found aspects of the working relationship hostile or remote.

Even so, the tribunal found that these matters did not amount to a fundamental breach of contract. It held that asking the claimant, while working two days a week, to devote that time to sales generation was not a breach of contract, and that it was logical to bring Ms Foreman back full time first because she was cheaper by about £6,000 a year and already capable of handling client work. The tribunal also found that the limited target of about 40 contacts was aspirational and not backed by KPIs or disciplinary consequences, so it was not part of a campaign to drive the claimant out.

The tribunal accepted that the way the respondent managed the situation may have caused the claimant to resign, but it did not accept that the respondent had shown an intention not to be bound by the contract. It therefore dismissed the constructive unfair dismissal claim. Because the notice pay claim depended on the dismissal claim, that claim also failed. The tribunal noted that the respondent's response to the resignation was poorly handled, but said that those later letters could not themselves amount to a breach because the claimant had already resigned.