Mr Donnachie v Waukesha Bearings Limited — 2022

Mr Donnachie worked for Waukesha Bearings Limited as a machine operator for about 10 years. During the Covid pandemic the respondent introduced workplace controls, and in late September 2020 there was a Covid outbreak in another department. On 30 September 2020 the claimant developed a sore throat while at work and later felt hot and unwell; on 1 October he attended work with a headache and sore throat, checked the government guidance, asked his manager whether he was fit to work, had his temperature checked, and was then sent home for a Covid test. He later received a positive result.

The respondent investigated whether he had attended work with Covid symptoms and brought disciplinary proceedings alleging gross misconduct. Mr Frew later found that the allegation that the claimant had attended on 30 September with Covid symptoms was not proved, but concluded that on 1 October he had been hot and sweating and that this should have meant he did not attend work. He imposed a final written warning for 12 months. The claimant appealed and also raised a grievance about the handling of the Covid outbreak and the disciplinary process. Mr Lewis did not uphold either the grievance or the disciplinary appeal.

The claimant said that the disciplinary process, the warning, the appeal outcome and the contents of interview notes showed that his managers had lied about him and his family, and that he could not return to work while the warning remained live. He resigned on 9 April 2021 after being offered other work. Applying s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996 and the authorities it cited, including Western Excavating, Malik, Woods, Omilaju, Meikle and Kaur, the tribunal held that the matters relied on had not amounted to an objectively repudiatory breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. It accepted that the events may have damaged the relationship between the parties, but it did not accept that Mr Macready's statement, either alone or cumulatively, amounted to a final straw that justified resignation. The claim for constructive unfair dismissal was therefore dismissed and no monetary award was made.