Case 2301458/2022 · Employment Tribunal
Mr S Ferryros v Arapina Bakery Ltd HELD: London South ET (by CVP) — 2023
- Case reference
- 2301458/2022
- Decision date
- 10 April 2023
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge McCluskey REPRESENTATION
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Mr S Ferryros
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningMr Ferryros started work for Arapina Bakery Ltd on 11 October 2020 as a part-time marketing associate and became full time from around 1 March 2021. The tribunal found that, from spring 2021, his work contained repeated errors in social media posts and marketing materials, and that Ms Pontiki and Mr Chambers raised concerns about his performance. On 24 January 2022 Ms Pontiki told him that his role would be reduced to three days a week, with two weeks' notice, and that he would receive a scaled-down brief for the reduced hours.
The tribunal found that at the meeting on 21 February 2022 Mr Ferryros shouted at Ms Pontiki in an abusive manner within earshot of customers and staff. It found that he said he would remain a full-time employee for two months, would turn up every day as if full-time, would force entry if necessary, would sleep at the premises if necessary, and that other staff members were corrupt. The tribunal accepted that Ms Pontiki felt threatened, vulnerable and unsafe during the meeting.
Applying the principles of repudiatory breach, gross misconduct, and the implied term of trust and confidence, the tribunal held that the claimant had, without reasonable and proper cause, conducted himself in a manner calculated to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of confidence and trust. It therefore dismissed the wrongful dismissal claim relating to the 22 February 2022 summary dismissal. No monetary award was made.
On the earlier hours-change issue, the tribunal held that the contract was silent as to the employer's notice to end the post-probation arrangement, and that a two-week notice period should be implied by reference to the contract and reasonableness. Because two weeks' notice had been given before the change to part-time hours took effect, there was no breach of contract. The unfair dismissal complaint was also dismissed, the tribunal noting that the claimant had said he did not wish to pursue it and that it had no jurisdiction to hear it.
Claims and outcomes
3 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfair dismissal | The claimant stated in correspondence before the hearing that he did not wish to pursue an unfair dismissal claim; the reserved judgment nonetheless dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Wrongful dismissal | Notice-pay claim arising from the summary dismissal on 22 February 2022; the tribunal found the claimant's conduct on 21 February 2022 amounted to repudiatory breach and gross misconduct. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Breach of contract | Claim for pay during the period 7 February to 21 February 2022 after the claimant's hours were reduced from five days to three; the tribunal implied two weeks' notice and found no breach. | Dismissed | — | — |
Legal tests applied
5 references- s.86 ERA 1996
- officious bystander test
- business efficacy test
- repudiatory breach
- implied term of confidence and trust
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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