In Person For the v Respondent — 2022

The claimant, a payroll manager, alleged that she resigned on 23 June 2021 in response to the respondent's conduct and that she was therefore constructively and unfairly dismissed. The tribunal applied s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996 and the constructive dismissal guidance in Western Excavating, Kaur, and Omilaju, asking whether there had been a repudiatory breach, whether the claimant had affirmed the contract, and whether her resignation was caused by the alleged breach.

The tribunal found that the respondent did take action on the claimant's concerns about Ms AV. It accepted that the claimant had been supported through occupational health input and a wellness action plan, that mediation was suggested, that AV was referred for coaching, and that the grievance raised on 20 April 2021 was investigated by Ms Dodgson. The tribunal found the grievance process and the 4 June 2021 outcome letter were detailed and thorough, and that the respondent changed the reporting line so that the claimant reported directly to Mr Lee. It upheld some parts of the grievance, including that AV created a negative working environment and micro-managed staff, but it did not uphold the allegations that AV threatened job security, withheld information, or that a £10,000 bonus had been wrongfully withheld.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's criticisms that the grievance process was unreasonably delayed or that there had been a promise to deliver an outcome within two weeks of the grievance meeting on 30 April 2021. It found no failure to update sick pay, no failure to rebuild trust and confidence, and no unreasonable handling of pay, overtime, or mental health communications. It also found no proved promise of a £10,000 bonus, noting that the claimant had not referred to it in her grievance letter or ET1 and that the tribunal did not accept that such a promise had been made.

On causation, the tribunal found that the claimant had been looking for other employment from at least March 2021, had accepted a new job on 15 June 2021, and then resigned without notice on 23 June 2021. It held that the effective cause of resignation was the offer and acceptance of new employment, not any repudiatory breach by the respondent. The unfair dismissal claim therefore failed, and the wrongful dismissal and holiday pay claims were also dismissed.