Constructive dismissal

Case 8: The facts

Mrs Diffang, an experienced midwife, applied unsuccessfully for promotion on two occasions. The second time, she only heard "through the grapevine" that the post had been offered to a colleague - on a temporary basis, as it turned out.

Feeling that her dedicated service and long service had gone unrecognised, Diffang resigned. A tribunal found that she had been constructively dismissed.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the only time when her manager could have told Diffang of the outcome of her application was over the weekend, when she was not at work. The tribunal had been wrong to conclude that this by itself was a fundamental breach of contract.

The case was sent to a different tribunal for a rehearing.

Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust v Diffang UKEAT/0022/05