Mr S Price v Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Heard via CVP (London Central) — 2024

Mr S Price was employed from 10 October 2022 as Managing Director AE Europe and had a corporate American Express card governed by a policy that generally prohibited personal spending except in limited circumstances, with reverse expense claims available. In August 2023, after his wallet and personal cards were stolen or otherwise unavailable while he was abroad, he used the corporate card for personal expenditure in the United States, Venice and for alternative travel arrangements to Albania. A reverse expense claim was submitted on 19 August 2023 and processed by 5 September 2023 for £11,672.91, although the paperwork showed (£11,692.91); the deduction was not taken from payroll until December 2023.

After internal queries in December 2023 and meetings on 22 and 23 January 2024, the respondent terminated employment for gross misconduct. It relied on the amount spent, the breach of the expenses policy, failure to seek approval, failure to use alternative payment methods, and the claimant's statement that he had travelled with his daughter rather than his partner. The tribunal held that the claimant's use of the card in the circumstances was at most an arguable misunderstanding of the policy, that there was no dishonesty in using the card, and that the respondent's own systems allowed reverse expense claims. It also found that the inaccurate statement about who was travelling was personal and irrelevant to the investigation and did not undermine the employment relationship.

Applying the repudiatory breach principles in Laws v London Chronicle and British Bakeries v O'Brien, the tribunal concluded that the claimant had not been in repudiatory breach of contract and was entitled to be paid for his three-month notice period. A remedy hearing was to be listed, with the parties invited to resolve remedy between themselves, so no final monetary award was made in this judgment.