In person For the v Mr T Goldup (Consultant). — 2020

The tribunal preferred the evidence of Mrs Sparks and Mr Fear on the main disputed issues. It rejected the suggestion that their friendship undermined credibility, found no dishonesty in Mrs Sparks’ use of the free laundry concession approved after Priory bought the business in 2015, and concluded that the January 2019 investigation into that concession was not pursued to a disciplinary outcome. After that investigation, significant parts of her administrative responsibilities were removed and she was called to a meeting on 14 February 2019 which was presented as being about answers to her questions but was, in substance, a negotiation about her leaving.

At the 14 February meeting and in the follow-up telephone contact, the tribunal found that Mr Steed repeatedly pressed Mrs Sparks to name a figure for leaving, moved from an initial offer of £1,500 to £2,000, and told her that if she did not accept, her employment would end and she would leave with nothing. When Mr Little later intervened, the tribunal accepted Mrs Sparks’ account that she was told Mr Lone would get rid of her and that they would try to set her up as before. The tribunal held that this amounted to an ultimatum to resign or be dismissed, so she was dismissed and did not resign under an agreement. It noted that section 111A was not relied on and said any such argument would in any event be defeated by section 111A(4).

The tribunal found the reason for dismissal was redundancy, because the administration work in Cardiff was being restructured and some tasks had already been distributed to others or moved to part-time cover. It held the dismissal was unfair because the restructuring was only in its earliest stages, no specific proposals were in place, and there had been no consultation or opportunity for the claimant to contribute. The tribunal also said the respondent’s approach was a deliberate attempt to avoid the potential cost of redundancy.

On remedy, the tribunal awarded a basic award of £3,894.21 and a compensatory award of £9,003.74, after including net loss of earnings, pension loss and £400 for loss of statutory rights, applying a 10% reduction to reflect the chance she would have been made redundant in any event, and deducting £4,188.20 already received at the end of employment. It found no blameworthy contributory conduct, accepted that Mrs Sparks had been seeking work, and held that she was reasonably limited to administrative and reception roles for the first three months, but was likely to obtain similar work in Cardiff within seven months.