Constructive dismissal

Case 1: The facts

During the course of his employment, Mr O'Shea was subject to five investigations into allegations of gross misconduct. He was suspended during each investigation.

He resigned prior to further disciplinary proceedings, and claimed that he had been constructively dismissed on the grounds that his employer had made persistent malicious allegations against him. A tribunal ruled against him, finding that he had resigned in expectation of a good reference.

O'Shea appealed that the tribunal had failed to take account of his employer's actions in deciding the reason for his resignation.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that, although the tribunal had looked at each of O'Shea's allegations and dealt with them under separate headings, this did not mean it had not considered them as a whole to establish whether there had been a cumulative breach of contract.

His employer had made allegations that turned out to be misconceived, but this did not necessarily mean that they were unreasonable or misconceived at the time based on information the employer had. The EAT upheld the finding that there had been no constructive dismissal.

O'Shea v Coventry City Council UKEAT/0046/04