The claimant claimed unfair dismissal and also sought a redundancy payment and notice pay. The situation arose out of a proposed higher rate of pay for a new post which the respondent ultimately was unable to afford. The claimant turned down a job offer elsewhere on the understanding that he would be paid a higher wage by the respondent; an offer which eventually never materialised.

The tribunal found as a finding of fact that the claimant’s original job offer remained open for the claimant. The tribunal held that as a result of this the claimant terminated the contract of employment.

Turning to the issue of constructive dismissal, the tribunal held that the respondent clearly breached an expressly agreed contractual term in respect of pay which was an ‘essential term’ and amounted to a fundamental and repudiatory breach. No prima facie, fair reason was put forward in the alternative or was established by the respondent under Art.130 of the 1996 Order and the tribunal found that the claimant’s constructive dismissal was unfair.

No redundancy payment was payable since the claimant was not dismissed by reason of circumstances falling within the statutory definition of a redundancy situation and it was also held the respondent did not fail to provide the claimant with notice. It was also held that the respondent did not provide a written statement of employment at any time and consequently the respondent was in breach of his duty under Art.33 of the 1996 Order. A sum of £555.20 was payable in relation to this. The respondent was ordered to pay the claimant a total of £2,282.00.


Practical lessons from this decision

This case demonstrates the potential pitfalls for an employer regarding constructive dismissal. The employer here promised the employee a higher wage and informed the accountant of same. The ultimate failure to honour this ‘expressly agreed contractual term’ counted towards the finding of a fundamental breach.