unrepresented For the first v Mr R Mackinnon and 1 other — 2024

The tribunal found that Mr R Mackinnon was employed jointly by CFG Holdings (S) Pte Ltd and Chiropractic First Group Limited from 7 August 2019 until 16 June 2023. He gave notice of resignation on 17 April 2023 intending to work until 16 July 2023, but the tribunal found he was entitled to resign with immediate effect because the respondents had committed repudiatory breaches by repeatedly failing over many months to pay his full contractual wages. The tribunal accepted that the final straw was a series of remote Zoom meetings in which he was not given sufficient reassurance that his contractual payments would be honoured.

The tribunal found that the decision to resign was caused by the breach of the implied term of trust and confidence and that Mr Mackinnon did not delay unduly before resigning. It accepted that he waited until he received his late March 2023 salary, and found that obtaining legal advice and additional funds before resigning was reasonable in light of the respondents' previous conduct. After he initially agreed to work his notice, the respondents suspended him in May 2023 without good reason and without paying contractual wages, which meant he was entitled to abridge his notice; the effective date of termination was 17 June 2023.

The complaint of constructive unfair dismissal succeeded. The tribunal also upheld the breach of contract complaint for unpaid notice pay, the unlawful deduction from wages complaint, and the claim for unpaid annual leave. It found that Mr Mackinnon had mitigated his losses by working continuously as a self-employed chiropractor and by starting a new chiropractic partnership with his wife.

Remedy was assessed at £96,426.83 in total. The unfair dismissal award comprised a basic award of £2,893.50 and a compensatory award initially calculated at £78,977.50, including 25% uplifts for failure to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice, but reduced to £69,000 because of the statutory cap. The tribunal also awarded £8,333.33 for notice pay, £12,950 for unlawful deductions, and £3,250 for holiday pay. It recorded a prescribed element for recoupment of £57,862 and a balance of £38,564.83.