Mrs Dorothy Roach v Boots Management Services Ltd — 2021

The claimant resigned after being told that an investigation into a customer complaint about alleged racist comments would proceed to a disciplinary stage. She denied making the comments and said she was not prepared to be disciplined, but the respondent gave her a cooling-off period and invited her to return if she went through the disciplinary process.

The tribunal found that a serious complaint had identified the alleged speaker as "Dot" and that a colleague, Ms Tinkler, had confirmed hearing the claimant say the words complained of. It found that this was important corroborating evidence and that the respondent, through Mr Hird, was entitled to conclude that a disciplinary process was necessary.

The tribunal accepted there were flaws in the investigation, including not formally interviewing some staff members. It found those flaws could have been addressed at the disciplinary stage and were not likely to cause significant damage to trust and confidence. The respondent had reasonable and proper cause for its actions, there was no repudiatory breach, and the claimant was not constructively dismissed.