EAT Contract of Employment -and- Unfair Dismissal
This appeal gave rise to potentially important points on the flexible working sections in Part 8A of ERA 1996 and on the commencement and effects of the Dispute Resolution Regulations. The employee informally sought flexible working in order to care for her grandchildren; this was refused. She then made a formal application under s.80 F of ERA which was also refused. She then resigned and claimed constructive dismissal. S.32 of EA came into effect a few days before the result of the appeal was notified; she did not go separately through the grievance procedure before presenting her claim for unfair dismissal and discrimination and under the flexible working procedures. The Tribunal found that the employer’s grounds of refusal (s.50 G of the ERA) were not made out, that the employee had been constructively dismissed. Her presentation of the formal application of F.W was on the fault also the making of a grievance. Appeal dismissed. We held, inter alia, (1) that the Tribunal were entitled to examine and decide upon the factual correctness of the asserted ground for refusing the flexible working request, although not its fairness and reasonableness and (2) that it was not, in law, necessary for the employee to go through two sets of procedures in order to comply with the requirements of s32 and Schedule 2 of Employment Act and that it was open to the Tribunal to find that her flexible working application was also the presentation of a grievance.
Judges:
His Honour Judge J Burke QC
Citations:
[2005] UKEAT 0418 – 05 – 1310, UKEAT/0418/05
Links:
Employment
Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.236833
