In Person For the v Respondent — 2022

Franklin Amedzo brought a claim of constructive unfair dismissal arising from his resignation on 13 June 2022. He said the respondent’s handling of an absence investigation that began in 2019, later absence management in 2021, and the subsequent grievance process amounted to a breach of trust and confidence. The tribunal accepted that there had been delay in concluding the 2019 absence investigation, but it found that Mr Amedzo did not escalate the matter at the time and that when he raised it again in 2020 the issue was immediately resolved by the respondent saying that no further action would be taken. That delay was not found to be a breach of contract.

The tribunal also rejected the argument that the 20 September 2021 meeting with Joe Boyle was outside the sickness absence policy. It found that Mr Boyle was a manager for the purposes of the policy. As to the later 21 September 2021 meeting and the informal verbal warning issued on 27 September 2021, the tribunal found that Mr Gilbert had discretion under the policy and that, even if he changed his position, the warning was promptly rescinded after referral to Mr Eltayib and HR. The tribunal accepted that Mr Gilbert told Mr Amedzo there would be no further action, but held that this episode still fell far short of conduct calculated or likely to destroy or seriously damage trust and confidence.

The tribunal then considered the grievance raised in January 2022 and the appeal process. It found no evidence of procedural irregularity or bias in the way Tim Hardy-Wallace investigated the grievance or in Dilwyn Evans’s appeal decision. It accepted that Mr Hardy-Wallace did not speak to Mr Gilbert, but said that this did not amount to a breach. It also rejected complaints about not being provided with notes of responses, the standard of proof applied, the absence of a copy of appeal minutes before the decision, the relative seniority of Mr Evans, and Sarah Lawrence’s involvement. Having found no breach of the implied term of trust and confidence, the tribunal did not need to decide whether Mr Amedzo affirmed the contract or resigned in response to any breach, and it dismissed the constructive unfair dismissal claim.