A Zaloga v Excellerate Services UK Limited — 2025

The claimant brought a breach of contract claim arising from the termination of his employment by Excellerate Services UK Limited. The agreed facts were that he transferred under TUPE, his employment including service with the previous employer began on 2 December 2024, he was dismissed on 10 March 2025, and the respondent did not follow its disciplinary policy and procedure. The tribunal recorded that the disciplinary policy was expressly non-contractual.

The claimant argued that the implied terms of mutual trust and confidence and a duty to act reasonably were breached by the respondent's failure to follow a disciplinary process. The tribunal referred to Johnson v Unisys Ltd [2001] ICR 480, HL, and explained that implied terms cannot contradict express terms and cannot make a non-contractual disciplinary policy contractual. It also held that the implied duty of trust and confidence could not be used to qualify an employer's express contractual right to terminate, and that contract law could not be used to create a remedy for the reason and manner of dismissal where Parliament had provided the statutory unfair dismissal regime.

The tribunal noted that the claimant was in effect seeking an unfair dismissal remedy through a contract claim, but he did not have the qualifying service needed to bring an unfair dismissal claim. After giving the claimant time to consider the position, the tribunal rejected the authorities he relied on, including Stevens v University of Birmingham, as not assisting him. It concluded that Johnson remained binding and that the claim of breach of contract had no basis in law, so the claim was not well-founded and was dismissed.