Miss Iona McNab v Tayside Contracts — 2023

The claimant resigned after working as a catering assistant for the respondent and alleged that she had been forced into an untenable position, including by an alleged incident on 8 February 2022 in which she said another employee physically shoved her. The Tribunal considered whether her resignation amounted to a dismissal under section 95(1)(c) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The Tribunal found that the claimant had not proved the alleged 8 February 2022 pushing incident or that she had reported such an allegation at the time. It preferred the respondent witnesses' evidence on disputed matters and noted that the contemporaneous record referred only to communication concerns. The claimant had not raised a formal grievance, had chosen to return to the workplace where the other employee worked, and had continued working for more than six months after the alleged incident.

The Tribunal concluded that there was no material breach of contract by the respondent and, in any event, the claimant had not resigned in response to such a breach. It found that the claimant had not established a dismissal in law, so the constructive unfair dismissal claim was dismissed and remedy did not arise.