Ms T Jenkinson v Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) — 2022

The claimant brought complaints of unfair dismissal and failure to provide written reasons for dismissal. The central issue was whether she had been dismissed with an effective date of termination of 18 February 2022. The tribunal found that the respondent had demoted her from pub manager back to bar staff after deciding the promotion had been unsuccessful, and that she had been required to leave the accommodation tied to the manager role.

The tribunal found there was no unambiguous statement of dismissal. It relied in part on the claimant's own later communications, including an email describing the situation as a demotion and asking for written confirmation of the change in employment status for Universal Credit and housing benefit purposes. It also noted later correspondence in which the respondent said she had reverted to bar staff and the claimant provided her address without disputing an ongoing contractual relationship.

Because the claimant had not established that she had been dismissed on or around 18 February 2022, the unfair dismissal complaint and the complaint about failure to provide written reasons for dismissal under s.92 Employment Rights Act 1996 were not well-founded and were dismissed. The tribunal stated that all claims were unsuccessful.