Mr Assamoi, a pub kitchen manager, was texted by his line manager and summoned to attend a team meeting the following day, which he had pre-booked as holiday following the holiday procedure. The text threatened disciplinary proceedings if he failed to attend. At a later investigatory meeting, when it became clear that Mr Assamoi missed the meeting because of a pre-booked holiday, he was told no disciplinary action would be taken. Mr Assamoi lodged a grievance about the manager’s behaviour and his failure to apologise and then resigned.

The EAT dismissed the claim for constructive dismissal. Even though the line manager’s text was likely to damage trust and confidence, the employer’s follow-up actions which included accepting his account, confirming that no formal action would be taken and offering to transfer him to another pub, prevented a fundamental breach of the employment contract.

Assamoi v Spirit Pub Company (Services) Limited [2011] UKEAT/0050/20/3007