Ms Y Dunbar v Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) — 2024

The claimant was employed as a Personal Secretary in the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. In a restructuring exercise, the respondent treated her as having been matched to Compliance Casework Officer and Hearing Centre Support Officer roles. The Tribunal found that the claimant had remained a Personal Secretary, had not undertaken casework, and that no matching exercise had been carried out against her actual role. Had that been done, the Tribunal found the roles would not have been a match.

The Tribunal found that the respondent did not appropriately address the claimant's concerns about the matching process, did not offer alternatives or place her on the redeployment register, and took no steps after receiving an occupational health report on 5 February 2024 to consider adjustments or discuss whether she could undertake the matched roles. The Tribunal found that the failure to act after that report was not a repudiatory breach by itself, but formed part of a cumulative course of conduct amounting to a repudiatory breach of the implied term of trust and confidence.

The Tribunal concluded that the claimant resigned in response to that breach and was constructively dismissed. It found the dismissal unfair, rejecting the respondent's case that the dismissal was fairly by reason of redundancy or some other substantial reason, because a fair process had not been followed in relation to matching, consideration of concerns, or redeployment alternatives. The Tribunal awarded a basic award of £11,694.30 and £500 for loss of statutory rights, but made no award for loss of earnings because the claimant had started part-time NHS employment and had not taken further steps to secure full-time or additional work.