Nadine Hanson arrived late to work in September 2023 after attending a medical appointment. She greeted her new director, Andrew Gilchrist, three times, but told the tribunal that he ignored her.
Hanson later resigned, as Gilchrist’s treatment of her made her anxious. The tribunal ruled that this was unfair dismissal as Gilchrist’s behaviour breached her trust and confidence.
“It is an implied term of every contract of employment that an employer must not act in a way that undermines the relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and an employee,” said Paul Stokey, partner and head of employment at law firm Shoosmiths, speaking to HR magazine.
“This could include, for example, deliberately excluding an employee, putting them under undue pressure, ignoring them or failing to properly investigate concerns that they raise.
“The consequences of acting in such a way can be significant. Where an employer’s failure to maintain trust and confidence goes to the very heart of the employment relationship, employees can resign and bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal in the employment tribunal.
“It is therefore critical that employers take steps to maintain trust and confidence.”
Read more: Worker who bumped into boss on holiday wins tribunal
Hanson's employer was acquired by Interaction Recruitment Specialists in 2023. She had worked for the company for 20 years.
When Gilchrist became director in September 2023, he learned that Hanson often worked from home and rarely came into the office. The tribunal heard that he quickly formed the impression that [Hanson] "did very little work and left her two colleagues to do the work”.
He arranged to visit the office on 26 September. Hanson arrived late, as she had been at a medical appointment. She attempted to say ‘hello’ to him three times, but did not receive a response.
Gilchrist told the tribunal that he had not ignored her, but instead that he was busy talking to colleagues. He also claimed that he could not remember if it did or did not happen, and that he "definitely" said ‘hello’ to everyone in the office. Employment judge Davies ruled his evidence unconvincing.
At their place of work, Gilchrist told Hanson, in front of colleagues, to go into a meeting room, where Hanson tried to show him her phone with evidence of her medical appointment. Gilchrist pushed her phone to one side and said: “I suggest if you don’t want to be here, you leave”.
Hanson replied: “After 20 years of working for the company, the only way I will be leaving is if you make me redundant.”
Directly after the meeting, Gilchrist emailed two of Hanson’s direct reports and informed them he wanted to give them a pay rise. Hanson told the tribunal that she felt ‘humiliated’ by Gilchrist's offer of pay rises to her direct reports, as he had not discussed it with her first.
Gilchrist told the tribunal that he did so after Hanson "asked to be made redundant" and he did not consult with Hanson about it as she “told [him] she wanted to be made redundant and [he] thought therefore that she was not engaged with the business”.
Judge Davies, however, found that Hanson had not asked to be made redundant. She ruled that Gilchrist offered the pay rises as: “When [Hanson] told him that the only way she was going was if she was made redundant, he determined that she had no future with the business.”
Gilchrist emailed Hanson’s direct report again later that day and said: “Good to see [Hanson] getting stuck in today.” Hanson told the tribunal that she was, again, humiliated, that Gilchrist emailed her report behind her back, and commented about her in that way.
Two weeks later, Hanson resigned. She told the tribunal that she did so as she felt undermined by Gilchrist’s behaviour and it was causing her sleepless nights, upset and anxiety, which judge Davies accepted.
She asked her line manager to be put on gardening leave for her notice period, however Gilchrist disagreed she could do so and told her she had to work from the office. A GP later signed her off for the three remaining weeks of her notice period.
When she received her payslip for October, she had not been paid for her period of sick leave, though her contract stated she was entitled to receive three weeks’ half pay for sick leave.
In his witness statement, Gilchrist suggested that Hanson had made up her anxiety as a "tactic" to "game the system". The tribunal report noted that “although not explicitly stated, the inference in the witness statement was that [Hanson] was not paid sick pay because Gilchrist did not believe she was genuinely sick”.
Judge Davies ruled that Hanson was unfairly dismissed as Gilchrist’s conduct was “calculated or likely to destroy or seriously damage the trust and confidence” between himself and Hanson. “[Gilchrist] did not intend to be bound by the employment relationship going forward and his conduct evinced that,” the report stated.
She ruled that Hanson resigned in response to breach of contract, and that she was not paid in accordance with her contractual entitlement. The remedy will be decided at a later hearing.
Read more: Commercial manager wins unfair dismissal tribunal after ‘size of a house’ comment
“HR professionals need to show courage and integrity if faced with unreasonable behaviour right at the top,” said Jim Moore, employee relations consultant at consultancy Hamilton Nash.
Moore told HR magazine: “A misbehaving manager needs to be tackled immediately, as it not only causes significant damage to the culture, it also runs the risk of escalating into harassment.”
HR should address managers’ unreasonable behaviour before employees raise tribunal claims, Moore added.
He continued: “Early intervention dramatically increases the probability of a positive outcome and avoids a tribunal claim.
“If a manager behaves so unreasonably that it would constitute a fundamental breach of trust and confidence, this cannot be fixed by attempting to make amends or upholding a grievance.
“However, if the distressed employee can be reassured that the matter has been dealt with and the employee is willing to continue working, this would reaffirm the employment contract and effectively waive the breach.”
Employees should feel able to raise concerns about management with HR, Moore added.
“Training alone isn't sufficient; there needs to be a regular review of the culture, which includes ensuring that employees view HR as a safe space for raising any concerns,” he said.
