Miss Sonia Mitchell v North of England Commissioning Support Unit — 2025

Miss Sonia Mitchell worked for North of England Commissioning Support Unit in CSAS after a TUPE transfer and resigned on 6 December 2021, with termination on 11 December 2021. She brought claims of constructive unfair dismissal, direct race discrimination and harassment related to race. The tribunal accepted that she was the only black member of her immediate team, but also accepted the respondent’s evidence that the wider service was multicultural. It found the claimant inconsistent in her oral evidence and placed significant weight on contemporaneous documents. On time limits, the tribunal held that incidents before 18 October 2021 were potentially out of time, that there was no continuing act, and that it would not have extended time as a just and equitable matter.

On the discrimination and harassment allegations, the tribunal rejected the claims about CSPB meeting allocation, working without a laptop, the wrong-name allegation involving Karen Burgess, the alleged laughter by Diane Thornton on 2 November 2020, the ramp comment, the Jamie Scott incident, the alleged remarks by Jonathan Gore, and the April 2023 text from Louise Hennessy. It found that the October 2020 salary shortfall of £483.05 was an administrative/payroll error that also affected Louise Hennessy, who was white, and that the shortfall was corrected in the November payroll. The tribunal found the claimant did receive the screen on 9 March 2020 and that no one received a printer that day, so she was not treated differently from colleagues. It also held that the text message from Louise Hennessy was friendly, not unwanted conduct, and in any event was not closely connected with the former employment relationship for section 108 EqA 2010 purposes.

On constructive dismissal, the tribunal accepted there had been a technical breach in relation to the October 2020 pay deduction, but held that the claimant accepted the explanation, did not ask to be paid sooner, and was repaid in November 2020, so she affirmed the contract. It found no repudiatory breach and no breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. The tribunal concluded that the claimant did not resign because of harassment or race discrimination; instead, it found she resigned because her sick pay had run out, notwithstanding that she later asked whether she could rescind her resignation. All claims were therefore dismissed.