Failure to pay sick pay

Case 3: The facts

Despite working for her employer for almost 15 years, Mrs Bellingham had no written contract. She became ill and was signed off work for a month, during which her employer paid her only Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Believing that she was entitled to full pay for the period, and that her employer’s refusal to pay it amounted to a breach of contract, she resigned and claimed constructive dismissal.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said Bellingham was contractually entitled to full pay during her sickness absence. If there is no written term, the EAT said, it is right for a tribunal to look at what happened in the past as well as what the understanding of the parties was.

Bellingham had had always received full sick pay in the past, with no indication that it was discretionary. The EAT held that withholding this money and denying that it was due amounted to a breach of contract, and was serious enough to justify her resignation. She therefore had been constructively dismissed.

Secession Ltd t/a Freud v Bellingham UKEAT/0069/05