Refusal to move jobs can amount to fair dismissal

Employees should be careful about refusing to agree to transfer to a new job, even if there is nothing in their contract obliging them to move.

In a ruling in favour of electronics company Pickering Interfaces, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that a part-time worker, Ms Grant, who refused to transfer temporarily to work for an associated company next door to where she normally worked, had no right to take a breach of contract claim.

Grant's employer had assured her that the move was temporary, just to cover a fall in business, and that she would remain a Pickering Interfaces employee under their terms and conditions.

The EAT held that even though there was nothing in Grant's contract to require her to move, and the request did involve a variation of her contract, her unreasonable refusal made her dismissal fair for reasons of conduct.

* Grant v Pickering Interfaces EAT/1375/01