Veitch Penny LLP - Exeter | Crediton, Devon

Case

Martin v Class Security Installations Limited
Employment Appeal Tribunal - 16 March 2006

Issues

(1) Constructive Unfair Dismissal
(2) Statutory Dispute Resolution Regulations
(3) Grievances

Facts

Mr Martin wrote a letter to his employer Class Security Installations Ltd (“Class”) outlining the bullying and intimidation he had suffered. He talked about a “last straw” incident although he gave no specific details of it. He indicated that these incidents had caused his resignation.

He subsequently made claims of constructive dismissal and disability discrimination. To claim, he needed to show that he had submitted a grievance letter regarding the matters at issue and waited 28 days prior to issue. He argued at first instance that his letter of resignation together with two subsequent letters to Class from his solicitors had raised the statutory grievance he was required to raise. One solicitor's letter had referred to a repudiatory breach of contract by Class and to Martin’s intention to raise a grievance prior to commencing proceedings.

At the Tribunal it was held that Mr Martin’s claims of constructive dismissal and disability discrimination should be struck out because of Mr Martin’s failure to raise a statutory grievance. The letter of resignation was not sufficiently detailed and one of the solicitor's letters could not be relied on because it had been sent less than 28 days before the claim was made.

The matter was referred to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

Decision

The EAT accepted that the issue of disability discrimination had not been raised as a grievance. However in respect of the constructive dismissal claim, the EAT disagreed with the Tribunal’s approach and found that it was not necessary for actual details of the grievance to be set out at Step 1 stage of the grievance procedure. The test should be whether on fair reading of the statement, the employer can be expected to appreciate the relevant complaint being raised. Consequently the EAT found that the Claimant’s letters did raise a statutory grievance which meant that the constructive dismissal complaint could proceed. It was clear in the letter that the employee had made plain he was leaving due to his employer’s conduct towards him.

Comments

This case must be added to the list of decisions which have sought to clarify the application of the statutory Dispute Resolution Regulations. The judgment further widens the potential situation where a grievance may be found to exist. Accordingly, employers must be wary of deciding not to treat a letter as a grievance due to lack of detail.

Rachel Billen – Associate Solicitor, Commercial Department at Veitch Penny.
Tel: 01392 278381, Fax: 01392 410247, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This Employment Law Update does not constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied on as such. You should take specific advice regarding your circumstances before taking any action based on the information contained within this Update.