Mr R Maddicott v Joyners Plants Limited — 2025

The claimant brought claims of constructive unfair dismissal and unauthorised deduction of wages following his resignation on 14 January 2025. The tribunal found that an oral agreement had been reached between the parties under which the respondent would pay for an intensive driving course in return for the claimant agreeing to relocate permanently to the Exeter site. In a meeting on 14 January 2025, the respondent's director denied any such agreement had ever been made, used a swear word directed at the claimant, and presented him with the alternative of returning to the Newton Abbot site on reduced wages.

Applying the implied term of trust and confidence (and citing Morrow v Safeway Stores), the Employment Judge concluded that the director's conduct, while not calculated to destroy trust and confidence, was likely to do so. The denial of the prior representation, the use of a swear word toward a junior employee, and the threat of a unilateral pay reduction were each separately sufficient to entitle the claimant to treat the contract as at an end. The tribunal found the claimant resigned in response to the breach, did not affirm the contract, and did not contribute to the constructive dismissal. Compensation will be determined at a remedies hearing.

On the unlawful deduction claim, although a signed Training Agreement provided for repayment of £230 of forklift truck training within 24 months and authorised deduction from final salary, the tribunal found the clause did not represent a genuine pre-estimate of the respondent's loss (the claimant had used the qualification for around 20 of the 24 months) and was therefore an unlawful penalty clause. The £230 deduction was unlawful and must be repaid.