E.T. Z (WR) EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 8000034/20235 Held at Aberdeen on August & September 2023 Employment Judge N M Hosie Mrs E Idzikowska v Aberdeenshire Council — 2023

Mrs Emma Idzikowska was employed by Aberdeenshire Council as a supply teacher at Peterhead Academy from 19 April 2022 on a one-year contract. She had been instrumental in setting up the Employer Engagement Volunteer Scheme with Score and other partners, and by the end of August 2022 the scheme had volunteers in both the Maths and Technical departments. After Gerard McCluskey became Acting Head Teacher, he met the claimant on 15 September 2022 to discuss the scheme.

The central dispute was what was said at that meeting. The tribunal preferred Mr McCluskey's evidence, supported by Christine Milne and contemporaneous emails, and found that he did not tell the claimant she had to stop being involved in the scheme, did not accuse her of a conflict of interest, and did not accuse her of criminal wrongdoing. The tribunal found that he was supportive of the scheme, appreciated the claimant's work, and was concerned only about the need to handle school information appropriately when she was also working at Score. The claimant's own email the next morning referred only to being 'likely to be taken off partnership working', which the tribunal regarded as inconsistent with her account that she had already been told to stop.

Applying the constructive dismissal authorities, including s.95(1)(c) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, Western Excavating, and the implied term of trust and confidence discussed in Malik and Woods, the tribunal held that the respondent had not committed a fundamental breach. It found that the claimant had misinterpreted what had been said at the meeting, that she did not appear upset or aggrieved at the time, and that her resignation later that day was based on a misunderstanding for which the respondent was not responsible. The tribunal therefore dismissed the claim.