Mr S Smith v Represented by Ms L Campbell Solicitor Norscot Truck and Van Limited — 2022

The only claim was unfair dismissal. The claimant was an HGV mechanic in the respondent's Dundee workshop. The tribunal found that there was an expectation in the contractual shift pattern that Saturday working could form part of overtime, and it concluded from the evidence that the claimant understood he needed permission if he was not going to attend on the Saturday after a back shift. The claimant did not attend on Saturday 16 October 2021, and when he attended on Monday 18 October 2021 there was a confrontation with workshop manager Ian Campbell after which the claimant left work and did not return.

The principal factual dispute was whether Mr Campbell said words amounting to dismissal. The tribunal preferred Mr Campbell's evidence and found that the words attributed to him by the claimant were not said. It also found the evidence of the supporting witness, Mr Deas, problematic and did not accept him as a credible witness on the key issue.

In the alternative, if Mr Campbell did say "if you don't like it, get your tools and go", the tribunal held that those words were ambiguous and, applying the surrounding circumstances, were not reasonably understood as words of dismissal. The tribunal relied on the workshop context, the use of banter and swearing, the fact that Mr Campbell had no authority to dismiss staff, the claimant's skill and replacement difficulty, and the respondent's subsequent text and letter seeking to clarify what the claimant wanted to do. The tribunal held that the claimant resigned without notice and in breach of contract, so the unfair dismissal claim was dismissed.