Breach of an implied term

Case 7: The facts

Mrs Billington was told at a disciplinary hearing that her performance was poor, and was later given a written warning. A fortnight later she met her manager, who suggested that she might want to consider resigning. When she received the minutes of that meeting, she felt they grossly misrepresented what had taken place.

As a result of her unhappiness with the minutes and the accumulation of events, she became ill and resigned. A tribunal ruled against her claim of unfair (constructive) dismissal.

The ruling

The claim relied on the employer's breach of the implied term of "mutual trust and confidence", namely that "the employer will not ... without reasonable and proper cause, conduct itself in a manner calculated and likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of confidence and trust between employer and employee".

The tribunal had decided that that there was damage to confidence and trust, but had not considered whether there was reasonable and proper cause, on the basis of repeated complaints made about Billington. The EAT therefore referred the matter to a fresh tribunal for re-hearing.

Billington v Michael Hunter & Sons EAT/0578/03