An unfair dismissal claimant cannot still be employed

Case 7: The facts

Mr Blakemore was off sick with anxiety and depression. While off work, he went on site to retrieve some tools he believed were his. His manager didn’t agree and wouldn’t let him take them. They had an argument. Two weeks later, he was sent a P45.

Later, on 6 November, he received a letter from his employer saying that he had resigned following the tools incident. Blakemore disputed this and issued a tribunal claim for unfair and wrongful dismissal.

The tribunal ruled that Blakemore had not resigned following the incident, but neither had he been dismissed, and that as a result he was still an employee. The employer appealed.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) overturned the ruling. The tribunal was wrong to find that Blakemore was still an employee.

Where a claimant has launched tribunal proceedings claiming unfair or wrongful dismissal alleging that the employment has ended, it is no longer open to that claimant to argue that they are still employed.

In any event, in this case, Blakemore was now working on a self-employed basis, which was inconsistent with any suggestion that he still worked for his old employer.

Commentary

Even employment tribunals can get confused with the complex and archaic statutory rules governing when employment terminates, as this case demonstrates.

Mr Clutch Auto Centres v Blakemore [2014] UKEAT/0509/13/LA

www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2014/0509_13_0805.html