Miss Lorraine Randall v Homes and Communities Agency — 2022

Miss Randall, a senior manager with Homes and Communities Agency, resigned and left on 5 November 2021 in the middle of the respondent's pay and grading exercise. She said a bonus or one-off payment of £525 was owing to her when she left. The tribunal held that, because the alleged payment would have been made later rather than as wages due on termination, the matter was properly analysed as a breach of contract claim only.

On the documents, the tribunal found that the September and October 2021 communications described an ongoing consultation and a proposed new pay and grading arrangement, not an unconditional promise. The 25 October letter referred to a further letter, a period of consultation, and later voluntary acceptance of the new terms; the 27 October material said that colleagues who signed to accept the new arrangements before their leaving date would receive any money due under the review. Reading the correspondence as a whole, the tribunal concluded that agreement was still required and had not been given before the claimant left.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant expected to receive the payment, but found that expectation had not crystallised into a contractual obligation. It also noted the later communications suggesting that eligibility turned on being employed at the relevant date or signing before leaving, and held that, on either formulation, the claimant was no longer employed when the necessary agreement point was reached. The claim was therefore dismissed. The tribunal cited Locke v Candy and Candy Ltd in explaining that the issue was what had been said or promised, not whether the result seemed harsh to an employee who left before the scheme was implemented.