Miss S Ryan v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council — 2020

Miss S Ryan, a Grade 6 Customer Finance Officer in the respondent's Social Care team, alleged that a series of management actions by Clare Taylor cumulatively breached the implied term of trust and confidence and led her to resign on 10 April 2019 after receiving the schedule for informal capability meetings. The tribunal approached the claim under Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and s.95(1)(c), together with the implied term of mutual trust and confidence and the authorities it cited on constructive dismissal.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's complaints about duty cover, emails, management of workload, case notes, the mentoring arrangement, annual leave, and one-to-one meetings. It found that the respondent had reasonable and proper cause for the policy changes and management interventions, including the move to charge the individual until means were proved, the need for concise case notes for the new case management system, and the use of a mentor scheme while Clare Taylor was also implementing system changes. It also found that the August 2017 working-days issue was a miscommunication which was later resolved by approval of the request.

On the evidence, the tribunal found that the emails were follow-ups prompted by a breakdown in communication, not excessive conduct; that the increased one-to-one meetings arose from the informal capability process; and that the claimant's resistance to the new procedures was part of the background to the dispute. The tribunal accepted that the informal capability procedure was introduced because of underperformance, not as a repudiatory act, and found that the respondent wanted the working relationship to improve rather than end. It concluded that there was no breach, whether individually or cumulatively, of the implied term of trust and confidence, so there was no constructive dismissal and the claim was dismissed.