Mr G Laffy v WKCIC Group t/a Capital City College Group and 1 other — 2024

The claimant's claims arose from the breakdown in his relationship with Ms Odu and his concerns about how the first respondent handled issues he raised about her conduct. The tribunal dismissed the harassment, direct discrimination and victimisation complaints, including after considering whether there were facts from which it could conclude, in the absence of an adequate explanation, that discrimination had occurred.

The tribunal found that the first respondent's handling of the claimant's grievance breached the implied term of trust and confidence and the implied duty to reasonably and promptly afford a reasonable opportunity to obtain redress of a grievance. It found that the first respondent failed to keep the claimant informed from mid-October 2022 until his resignation on 17 February 2023, failed to respond substantively to his requests for updates, and had still not provided an outcome when he presented his claim.

The tribunal concluded that the claimant resigned in response to that breach, did not unnecessarily delay, and did not affirm the contract. It was not persuaded that the first respondent had shown a potentially fair reason to dismiss, so the constructive unfair dismissal claim succeeded. The holiday pay claim was dismissed after evidence was given that the claimant had been paid for 5.6 weeks of holiday per year and the claimant did not maintain that further holiday pay was owed.