Kevin Ripton v ABM Aviation UK Limited — 2022

Kevin Ripton resigned on 6 September 2021 and brought a constructive unfair dismissal claim against ABM Aviation UK Limited. The tribunal recorded that the claimant said he had been told to undertake a shift that was beyond him and impossible to do, and that the respondent had not properly dealt with his complaint. The tribunal framed the issues by reference to s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996, the implied term of trust and confidence, and whether any breach was fundamental, whether the claimant resigned in response to it, and whether the respondent acted reasonably under s.98(4) ERA 1996 if fairness fell to be considered.

The tribunal found that the move to earlier start times was a negotiated variation of the claimant's existing Friday and Saturday shifts, not a forced change. It accepted evidence that the claimant agreed to the new start and finish times after email exchanges in July 2021, and found there was no evidence that he was under duress when agreeing to them. It also found that the respondent had sought to accommodate his request for a later start where possible, and that an earlier email error about Monday shifts was corrected and apologised for.

On the complaint that the new shift was impossible to do, the tribunal preferred the respondent's evidence and the baggage-volume data. It found that the claimant did work the new shift pattern on 21, 27 and 28 August 2021, that the volume of bags fluctuated but staffing was designed around those fluctuations, and that the later-start shift was not impossible to perform. The tribunal concluded that the respondent had not breached the implied term of trust and confidence, either by imposing the revised hours or by requiring the claimant to work them.

The tribunal also held that the way the respondent dealt with the complaint did not amount to a breach. It found that the claimant had not clearly identified the solution he wanted, that he was not entitled to unilaterally revert to his old hours, that the respondent responded after the claimant's annual leave issue, and that it arranged a meeting for 6 September 2021 to discuss matters. The claimant resigned before that meeting took place. Because no breach of trust and confidence was found, the tribunal did not need to go on to the remaining issues and dismissed the constructive unfair dismissal claim.