Mrs P Chigona v Mentaur Ltd — 2024

The claimant resigned with immediate effect on 25 May 2023 and alleged that the respondent had failed to respond to concerns about a colleague, failed to investigate an alleged assault by that colleague, and handled her grievance unfairly and dishonestly. The respondent said its managers had responded to the concerns, investigated the incident, and dealt appropriately with the grievance.

The tribunal found that the respondent pursued appropriate and reasonable investigations into the complaints made at the time, and that the managers who dealt with the grievance and appeal reached reasonable decisions on the evidence available to them and explained those decisions clearly. Although the tribunal described the delay in informing the claimant of the grievance outcome as inexplicable and unexplained, it noted that the claimant did not rely on that delay in pursuing her claim.

The tribunal concluded that the evidence did not establish a repudiatory breach of contract, a cumulative breach of the implied term of trust and confidence, or a genuine last straw leading to resignation. It also found that the claimant had affirmed her contract during the relevant period. The constructive dismissal claim therefore failed and was dismissed.