We look at three recent employment tribunal decisions where the unfair constructive dismissal claim was successful because of mistakes made by the employer that breached the employment contract expressly or impliedly.
In MacLean v Menzies Distribution Ltd, an employment tribunal found that the employer's public "dressing-down" of an employee via email entitled the employee to resign and successfully claim constructive dismissal.
In Jagex Ltd v McCambridge, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the employee had not acted in breach of contract or committed gross misconduct when he shared pay information with a colleague, after he found a document left on a printer containing the senior executive's salary.
In Retirement Security Ltd v Wilson, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the employer's "flawed" disciplinary investigation entitled the claimant to resign and successfully claim constructive dismissal.
In Upton-Hansen Architects Ltd v Gyftaki, the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the tribunal decision that the employee's suspension was in breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. The employee was constructively dismissed and, in the absence of a potentially fair reason, the dismissal was unfair.
In Atherton v Bensons Vending Ltd, an employment tribunal held that a small employer fairly dismissed an employee who made a personal attack on the managing director on Facebook. However, the claimant's wrongful dismissal was upheld because the employer could not show that his behaviour was so serious that it was entitled to dismiss him without notice pay.
In Antuzis and others v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd and others, the High Court held that the director and company secretary were both jointly and severally liable for the employer's statutory and contractual breaches.
In London Borough of Lambeth v Agoreyo, the Court of Appeal held that the proper test for the courts for deciding if an employee's suspension breached the implied term of trust and confidence is whether or not the employer's decision to suspend was a "reasonable and proper" response to the allegations.