Contract of Employment – Incorporation Into Contract
CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT – Implied term/variation/construction of term
UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Constructive dismissal
UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Contributory fault
The Employment Appeal Tribunal heard this appeal against the judgment of the Employment Tribunal. It was argued that the Employment Tribunal should have paid more heed to the underlying misconduct of the employee, the Claimant, who had lied to the Appellants about his whereabouts and taken time away from work when driving a company car although ostensibly working for the Appellants. However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal was satisfied that the primary cause of the constructive dismissal was the unfairness of the disciplinary meeting and that the Claimant’s resignation was primarily due to the handling of his misconduct and not his prior misconduct. The Appellants appeals in this connection were rejected. The Employment Appeal Tribunal was persuaded however that the deduction for contributory fault was perversely low. His dishonesty and misuse of company time was a significant factor. The Employment Appeal Tribunal indicated that it was minded to assess the contributory at 20% but invited submissions in writing before making a final decision. The Employment Appeal Tribunal was also persuaded on a construction of the contractual documentation that the Appellants had agreed to pay an allowance for time spent ‘sleeping in’, when the Claimant was providing care in the course of his employment. The Employment Appeal Tribunal therefore overturned the Employment Tribunal’s finding that he was entitled to be paid at his normal hourly rate.
Citations:
[2019] UKEAT 0112 – 19 – 0309
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 15 October 2022; Ref: scu.646856