Ms Vidgen Mrs H Hudson Ms L Payne v K2 Smiles Limited — 2021

The Respondent acquired the dental practice in July 2017 and the three Claimants, all long-serving dental nurses/receptionists, transferred with their continuity of service intact. A central issue in the case was the Respondent's demand for historic CPD records. The tribunal found that the General Dental Council did not require a new employer to audit employees' historic CPD records or keep copies of them, and that the Care Quality Commission materials did not require that either. It found that Mrs Patel gave shifting explanations for the request, including a gap analysis, compliance, and insurance, but that the demand was not a necessary or reasonable instruction.

For Ms Vidgen and Ms Hudson, the tribunal held that the disciplinary process was unfair from the start. On 4 December 2018 they attended a meeting with Mr Wrigley, who was excluded despite an express contractual right to be accompanied by a friend; the tribunal found that refusal to allow him to attend was a breach of contract. It also found that the process went beyond what had been set out in the invitation letters, that the consultant did not properly consider the Claimants' written responses, and that the appeal process did not cure those defects because the appeal was fixed for a date when Mr Wrigley could not attend. Ms Hudson's departure from the practice that morning was treated as distress and temporary incapacity rather than conduct justifying summary dismissal. Applying the Burchell test and s.98(4) ERA 1996, the tribunal held that no reasonable employer would have dismissed either claimant in those circumstances.