Members: Lorna Taylor Liz Farrell Ms A Jackson v Ltd (In Liquidation) — 2020

The claimant brought claims arising from her attempted return to work after maternity leave. The tribunal found that the respondent sent letters in October 2018 to the only address it had for the claimant and tried to telephone her, but the claimant did not receive those communications because she had not provided an updated address and the respondent did not know her new telephone number. It also found that the claimant's later Gumtree and Facebook messages were not received, and that her solicitor's 24 April 2019 letter was not received by Yvonne Thompson while she was on sick leave.

The tribunal accepted that Ashley Gray responded promptly to the claimant's solicitor on 9 May 2019 and was trying to explain what she understood had happened and establish whether there had been other communications. It found that this was not a refusal to allow the claimant to return to work and was not a refusal to discuss her return. It also found that Ashley Gray did not receive the solicitor's email of 10 May 2019, that the claimant had not been permanently replaced, and that the P45 leaving date did not show an earlier decision to terminate employment.

On discrimination, the tribunal found that the alleged unfavourable or less favourable treatment did not occur, so the claimant had not proved a prima facie case. On constructive dismissal, it found no repudiatory breach and no breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. On the alternative direct dismissal case, it found that the respondent had not communicated or implied an unequivocal intention to terminate the contract. The breach of contract claim for notice pay also failed because there had been no dismissal.