Employers should always investigate employee complaints of mistreatment and make amends if appropriate.
Where the conduct complained of is not yet serious enough to amount to a breach of trust and confidence, this may prevent the situation escalating to such a breach and thereby defeat a constructive dismissal claim. (Assamoi v Spirit Pub Company, EAT)
However, once a breach has occurred, this cannot be cured and the employee is entitled to choose whether to treat the breach as terminal, even if the employer upholds the employee's grievance and attempts to make amends. (This was established by the Court of Appeal in Buckland v Bournemouth University).
Key contacts
Samantha Brown
Managing Partner, Employment, Pensions and Incentives, UK and EMEA, London
Steve Bell
Managing Partner, Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety, Asia and Australia, Melbourne
Emma Rohsler
Partner, Head of Employment, Pensions and Incentives, EMEA, Paris
Tim Leaver
Partner, London
Andrew Taggart
Partner, London
Fatim Jumabhoy
Partner, Head of Employment & Workplace Investigations, Asia, Singapore
Barbara Roth
Partner, New York
Christine Young
Partner, London
Disclaimer
The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.