Mr I Fahiey – Claimant’s fiancée For the v Ms C Rayner - Counsel — 2019

The claimant, Ms Miecznikowska, was employed by H&M Hennes & Mauritz UK Limited from 17 April 2014 until she resigned on 8 February 2018. The only issue decided at this hearing was whether she had been constructively dismissed and, if so, whether that dismissal was unfair. The tribunal also recorded that a separate issue about whether certain claims were covered by a COT3 agreement was listed for a later preliminary hearing.

The tribunal set out the constructive dismissal test in general terms and referred to Kaur v Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust [2018] IRLR 833. It held that the respondent had not committed any breach of contract, still less a repudiatory breach, arising from the handling of the claimant’s grievances. The tribunal found there was no substantial delay in arranging the grievance meeting on 19 December 2017, that the claimant was kept informed until 19 January 2018, and that the further delay until 12 February 2018 resulted from a genuine administrative error by Ms Begum.

The tribunal also rejected the claimant’s complaint about the grievance hearing itself. It found that Ms Begum conducted a long and diligent process, that the notes did not need to mirror every point raised in a three-hour meeting, and that the outcome letter addressed the substance of the grievance issues. The tribunal found no evidence that the respondent was victimising or discriminating against the claimant, and said that disagreements with her line manager did not amount to a breach of contract.

As to the events of 6 and 8 February 2018, the tribunal preferred the evidence of Burcu Cansiz where there was a conflict of recollection. It found that the discussion did not amount to a breach, let alone the last straw in a series of breaches. The tribunal was left in doubt as to the cause of the resignation and found that the claimant did not prove, on the balance of probabilities, that she resigned in response to any repudiatory breach by the respondent. The complaint of unfair (constructive) dismissal was therefore dismissed.