Mr J. Rowlands v The Co-Operative Group Ltd — 2020

The tribunal found that the claimant resigned with immediate effect on 20 September 2018. It rejected his later suggestion that the letter was a request for transfer, finding that the wording was clear and unequivocal and that the resignation was accepted by the respondent.

The claimant relied on alleged breaches of the implied term of trust and confidence, including requirements to work in unsafe stores, lack of support over health and safety concerns, alleged false disciplinary investigations, and lack of support after an altercation with a colleague. The tribunal found that the respondent had not required him to work in unsafe conditions, had responded to his reports through management and audit processes, and had not breached the implied term in relation to those matters.

The tribunal also found that the February/March 2018 disciplinary warning was based on evidence and was not false, later informal enquiries about colleagues' concerns did not amount to disciplinary investigations, and the opening of a file about Facebook posts involving a colleague was a neutral and appropriate step. Although the claimant resigned partly in response to the Facebook-related enquiries and his wider dissatisfaction, the tribunal held that neither the final act nor the cumulative conduct amounted to a repudiatory breach. The constructive unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed.