Mrs J Costello v City of Liverpool College — 2022

Mrs J Costello resigned from her role on 16 December 2021 after a series of events in 2021, including an initial interview about concerns regarding Sophie Park, suspension and investigation after a large download and deletion of files from her home IP address, a letter about returning personal devices, and a grievance about the way the college had handled matters. The tribunal accepted that some of the earlier incidents could in principle form part of a cumulative complaint, but it also found that the suspension and investigation over the data download had reasonable and proper cause, and that the claimant did not raise contemporaneous complaints about several of the matters she later relied on.

The tribunal found that the claimant’s grievance raised wide-ranging concerns, but that the respondent’s later grievance handling did not amount to a repudiatory breach. Laura Rowan’s email on 15 December 2021 saying the grievance outcome would not be ready before the New Year was not accepted as the last straw. The tribunal considered that by then the claimant had already formed a strong expectation that she would be offered a new post with Hybrid Technical Services Ltd, where Sophie Park was then Managing Director.

On the tribunal’s findings, the claimant’s resignation was prompted by the near-certainty of that new job, which she wanted to start in January 2022, rather than by a cumulative breach of contract by the respondent. The tribunal also rejected the suggestion that the absence of an updated contract, the inbox/out-of-office issues, the grievance delay, or the limited contact while she was off sick were enough, separately or together, to destroy trust and confidence. The grievance outcome later upheld only the complaint about the missing updated contract or variation letter and noted that an out-of-office message could have been used, but otherwise found no significant breach; the appeal was unsuccessful apart from those points.