In person For the v Mr M Harvey (director) — 2021

Mrs Deborah Hobbs worked for HR Lettings Limited from 5 November 2018 as a lettings negotiator and was promoted to senior lettings negotiator in May 2021. She complained from around August 2020 about the conduct of other staff. The tribunal accepted that some incidents were not ideal, including Mr Harvey's text saying "chin up granny", Ms Smalley raising her voice to her in May 2020 and 4 January 2021, and a final formal notice issued on 7 October 2021 that was later retracted. It also found that the desk move while Mrs Hobbs was on sick leave was insensitive but not malicious.

Applying the objective test for the implied term of trust and confidence, the tribunal held that those matters did not amount to conduct calculated or likely to destroy or seriously damage the employment relationship. It accepted that Mrs Hobbs subjectively lost confidence in the respondent, but found no repudiatory breach under section 95(1)(c) ERA 1996 and no constructive dismissal. The tribunal concluded that, although there had been tension and raised voices in the office, there was no course of conduct against her and she resigned on 10 November 2021.

On the notice-pay issue, the tribunal found that Mrs Hobbs' contract provided one month's notice, but that this was varied by agreement when she made clear she did not want to return to the office and Mr Harvey accepted her resignation while offering to pay her usual salary until the end of November. Mrs Hobbs was signed off sick until 12 November 2021, received statutory sick pay to that date, and then received normal pay until 30 November 2021 without working her notice. The breach of contract claim therefore failed and no monetary award was made.