Ms A Krasnova v Mr. Starchevskiy — 2021

The claimant was employed as a temporary travel nanny under a contract dated 16 May 2021 that set out precise working hours, duties for child A, limited help with child B, and express payment for roundtrip flights, food and drinks, transport to and from airports, and related Covid tests. The tribunal accepted that shortly after arrival the respondent required the claimant to work longer day shifts than agreed, to remain on duty throughout extended hours, to send frequent WhatsApp updates, to massage child A, and increasingly to look after child B beyond the contract terms.

On 23 May 2021 the claimant resigned by text, saying she did not count on the workload and treatment. The tribunal found that the changes to her contractual duties were a sufficiently serious breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence, that they fundamentally altered the nature of the employment, and that the claimant resigned because of that breach. It also found she had not waived the breach or affirmed the contract, and noted that the respondent had accepted her resignation in writing.

The tribunal therefore held that the constructive dismissal complaint succeeded and awarded one week’s notice, calculated from the claimant’s £80 daily rate as £560 gross. It also held that the separate breach of contract claim was well founded because the respondent had not paid the travel and related expenses due under the contract, and awarded £782 for the return flight to the UK, Covid tests and out-of-pocket expenses. The total award was £1,342. The alleged incident involving child B after the resignation was not determined and was outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction.