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).
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Steve Bell
Managing Partner - Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety (Australia, Asia), Melbourne
Emma Rohsler
Regional Head of Practice (EMEA) - Employment Pensions and Incentives, Paris
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.