Miss C Johnson v Townley House Nursery Limited — 2021

Miss C Johnson worked for Townley House Nursery Limited as Baby Team Leader from 1 November 2019 and was promoted in December 2019 to Nursery Manager at Cuerden Nursery. Her contract contained a mobility clause. Cuerden Nursery closed on 20 March 2020 and she was furloughed. In early July 2020 the respondent told her to return to work on 6 July and said the nursery would reopen on 13 July, but on 6 July she was told that reopening on 13 July was no longer happening and no clear alternative date was given.

The tribunal found that between 3 and 10 July 2020 the claimant was left without guidance, was told when to take breaks, was refused an early finish on 9 July, and was not given a face-to-face meeting to explain the changing position. It held that this conduct breached the implied term of trust and confidence. The claimant resigned at the conclusion of the grievance meeting on 10 July 2020, and the tribunal found that she resigned in response to the breach and was therefore dismissed under s.136(1)(c) ERA 1996 and entitled to resign without notice.

The breach of contract claim for notice pay succeeded, and the tribunal awarded £593.84. At the earlier hearing the respondent had agreed that a preparation time order of £320 should be made. The redundancy payment claim was dismissed because the tribunal found there was no redundancy situation: there was still work for the claimant as manager, the mobility clause remained available, and the respondent's own evidence was that the nursery would open later. The tribunal also recorded that the claimant had not pursued an unfair dismissal claim, so no basic award or compensatory award was considered.