Usually, when an employee submits their resignation to you, it’s clear that the employment relationship is ending. The employee is moving on, and — unless there’s a history of poor behaviour or discrimination by the employer, the risk of future claims is low.
Manjula v Immigration and Nationality Services Ltd and IANS solicitors
However, a recent employment tribunal case serves as a reminder to all employers that your behaviour after you’ve received the resignation is important.
In Manjula v immigration and Nationality Services Ltd and IANS solicitors, a woman qualified as a solicitor in India before re-qualifying in the UK. Her UK employer obtained a sponsor licence for her, extended her work visa and employed her as a newly qualified solicitor. However, she then resigned to go to work for KPMG. She discussed the resignation with her supervisor and agreed to keep working for another two months (to help with handover of work).
However, when the director of the firm heard about her resignation, he slammed his hands on the table and shouted at her. He accused her of breaching his trust (by leaving once he had paid to extend her visa) and threatened that he would make her pay for this. He said (in an email) he did not want her to continue to work, she should hand in her notice immediately and that it was her last day. She was not paid any notice pay.
What did the Tribunal say?
She brought several tribunal claims, including for unfair dismissal, which the tribunal upheld. It said that she had been dismissed for misconduct (i.e. ‘breach of trust’), but this was unfair as the employer did not genuinely believe in her misconduct or follow a fair procedure. The real reason for dismissal was that the director wanted to avoid her working (or needing to pay for) her notice period.
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