(sitting alone) Mr S Anwar v Pizza Cake Ayr Ltd t/a Domino’s Pizza — 2021

Mr Anwar was employed by Pizza Cake Ayr Ltd from 2 December 2011 until he resigned with immediate effect on 24 September 2020. The case arose after he began working for Just Eat while on furlough from the respondent in 2020. The tribunal found that he had not told the respondent that he personally needed to shield, and that the government guidance in force did not prevent him from doing work for another employer while furloughed.

The tribunal held that several matters amounted, cumulatively, to breaches of the implied term of trust and confidence. These included the 19 June 2020 call in which Raza Hafiz told the claimant he would have to quit Just Eat or face dismissal, the manner in which David Cameron conducted the 14 July 2020 investigatory meeting, the 28 July 2020 report alleging that the claimant had behaved fraudulently and breached trust, and the subsequent disciplinary outcome on 12 August 2020 upholding those allegations and issuing a final written warning. The tribunal also found that Chris Maxfield failed to take proper account of the relevant furlough guidance and the claimant’s evidence about the different Covid risks in his work for Just Eat and for the respondent.

The claimant appealed, and on 2 September 2020 the warning and allegations were revoked. He then sought an unreserved apology. The tribunal found that the apology given on 8 September 2020 did not itself contribute to any cumulative breach, and that the respondent’s failure to respond further to the claimant’s 9 September email was an innocuous act in the circumstances. Although the claimant resigned on 24 September 2020, the tribunal held that he had acquiesced in the earlier breaches by remaining in employment after the successful appeal, continuing to receive furlough pay, and not clearly preserving any right to resign in response to the earlier conduct. The claim for constructive unfair dismissal was therefore dismissed and no award was made.