Ms L. Doran v Medicmart Ambulance Services Limited — 2023

Ms L. Doran brought a constructive unfair dismissal complaint against Medicmart Ambulance Services Limited. The tribunal found that no verbal agreement had been reached at the 30 November 2021 appraisal for her to work 35 hours per week and one weekend in four, and that the terms of her employment therefore remained those set out in the written contract dated 20 June 2019. It also found that the respondent had not unilaterally varied her contract and had not breached the implied term of trust and confidence in the way it handled the proposed contract changes.

The tribunal rejected the claimant’s case that the respondent failed to inform her whether she could continue to work lawfully and safely because of training issues. It found that the claimant’s Basic Life Support certificate was clear on its face, that the respondent told her on two occasions that the certificate remained valid, and that there was no evidence she could not continue to work or that the respondent was acting in bad faith. It accepted that refresher training had been delayed because of logistical difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fuel crisis, but found that this delay did not amount to a breach of contract or destroy mutual trust and confidence.

Applying the constructive dismissal authorities it had set out, including s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996, Western Excavating, Malik, Lewis, Omilaju, Kaur, Lochuack and s.98(4) ERA 1996, the tribunal held there had been no fundamental breach and therefore no constructive dismissal. Because there was no dismissal at all, the unfair dismissal complaint was not well founded and was dismissed. No monetary remedy was awarded.