EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 4107603/2021 (V) Held by means of the Cloud Video Platform on 18, and August 2021 Employment Judge W A Metklejohn Mr W Ross v Represented by: Mr G Bathgate - Solicitor Doosan Babcock Ltd — 2021

The claimant had worked for the respondent since 21 August 1978 and resigned by letter dated 19 August 2019, stating that his last day would be 16 September 2019. After the resignation, the respondent completed its leaver process, issued a P45 and paid accrued holiday. The claimant later met Mr A Colquhoun and then spoke with Mr D Taylor on 20 and 23 September 2019. The central factual dispute was whether those discussions resulted in a one-year sabbatical, as the claimant believed, or only arrangements about possible re-employment after his one-year GCC contract, as the respondent said.

The tribunal preferred Mr Taylor's evidence on that dispute. It relied on Mr Taylor's contemporaneous note, the absence of authority to vary the sabbatical policy, the later letter of 7 October 2019, and the fact that a P45 had already been issued. The tribunal found that the claimant was not placed on sabbatical leave and was not re-employed. It also concluded that the references in the 7 October 2019 letter to pension contributions, life cover and long service would only have effect if he returned, rather than preserving employment in the meantime.

On time limit, the tribunal found that the claimant genuinely and reasonably believed he remained employed until Mr Taylor's email of 21 September 2020 stated that the respondent had accepted his resignation of 19 August 2019. Applying section 111 ERA and the guidance it took from Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation NHS Trust v Crouchman, the tribunal held that it had not been reasonably practicable for the claim to be presented within three months of 16 September 2019 and that the ET1 lodged on 10 February 2021, after ACAS early conciliation, was in time. The unfair dismissal claim therefore failed only on the merits: the effective date of termination was 16 September 2019, and the issues about the reason for dismissal and fairness were treated as academic.