The Claimant resigned after a TUPE transfer and claimed unfair dismissal relying on alleged fundamental breaches of contract by his employer and/or on regulation 4(9) of TUPE arising from the introduction of new standby/call out arrangements and the extension of his duties in relation to safety. The ET rejected his claim that he was to be treated as dismissed on either basis, finding (a) that under his existing contract the employer was entitled to introduce the changes and (b) that the changes were not ‘substantial change(s) in working conditions to [his] material detriment’.
On his appeal the EAT held:
(a) that the ET’s finding that under the claimant’s existing contractual terms the employer was entitled to introduce the changes was open to it; but
(b) that that finding was irrelevant to the issue under regulation 4(9); and the finding that the changes were not substantial and to the claimant’s material detriment were perverse on a proper application of regulation 4(9), as explained in Tapere v South London and Maudsley NHS Trust [2009] IRLR 972.
Accordingly the appeal was allowed and the issue of unfair dismissal remitted to the ET.
Citations:
[2021] UKEAT 0155 – 20 – 0404
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 26 November 2022; Ref: scu.661701