Member P McColl Tribunal Member M McAllister Mr D Fyall v Glen Transport Limited — 2020

Mr Fyall worked for Glen Transport Limited from 11 May 2009 until he resigned by letter dated 3 January 2019. The tribunal found that relations had deteriorated during 2018 after a series of letters from Mr Taylor about timekeeping, instructions, overtime, and conduct, followed by a mediated meeting with HR consultant Alison Melville on 28 November 2018. At that meeting Mr Fyall raised concerns about the use of the class 1 vehicle on 5 November 2018 when it was not road legal, and he treated that as a protected disclosure. The respondent later confirmed in its 10 December 2018 letter that the incident would not happen again and that he would still be paid extra when class 1 driving was required.

The tribunal rejected the alleged breach of contract and constructive dismissal case. It found that the proposed change from 'Class 1 Driver' to 'driver' did not amount to a fundamental breach, noting that Mr Fyall had not driven the articulated lorry since at least 30 April 2016 and that the respondent explained it no longer needed a class 1 driver. It also held that the other matters relied on, including the letters of concern, the handling of discipline, the appointment of Thomas Stoddart, the sharing of a private mobile number, and the conduct at the mediation meeting, did not destroy mutual trust and confidence or otherwise make it reasonable for Mr Fyall to resign.

The public interest disclosure claims also failed. The tribunal accepted that protected disclosures had been made, but held that Mr Fyall did not suffer a detriment on the ground of those disclosures and that the evidence did not support any causal link between the disclosures and the treatment complained of. It also rejected the alternative unfair dismissal arguments under ordinary principles and s.103A ERA 1996 because it found there was no dismissal at all. At submissions Mr Fyall was no longer insisting on the redundancy payment claim, so the tribunal did not award any redundancy remedy. No monetary award was made.