Mr C Fagan and Mr L Dickinson v BES Metering Services Ltd: 2414341/2019 and 2400121/2020
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 16 July 2021 |
| Citation | 2414341/2019 and 2400121/2020 |
| Published date | 06 August 2021 |
| Court | Employment Tribunal |
| Subject Matter | Unfair Dismissal |
RESERVED JUDGMENT
Case Nos: 2414341/2019
and 2400121/2020
1
EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS
Claimants: Mr C Fagan
Mr L Dickinson
Respondent BES Metering Services Limited
HELD AT: Manchester ON: 13-15 July 2020,
3+6 August 2020,
8+9 October 2020,
12+13 January 2021 and
4 + 5 March 2021
BEFORE: Employment Judge Batten (sitting alone)
REPRESENTATION:
For the Claimants: Mr N Grundy, Counsel
For the Respondent: Ms K Barry, Counsel
RESERVED JUDGMENT
The judgment of the Tribunal is that:
1. the claimants have the necessary 2 years’ continuous employment to
present claims of unfair dismissal;
2. the claimants were constructively dismissed, and their claims of unfair
dismissal are well-founded.
3. The claims shall proceed to a remedy hearing on a date to be fixed.
RESERVED JUDGMENT
Case Nos: 2414341/2019
and 2400121/2020
2
REASONS
Background
1. By individual claim forms submitted by Mr Fagan on 5 November 2019,
and by Mr Dickinson on 8 January 2020, the claimants presented claims
of constructive unfair dismissal. The respondent entered its responses to
the claims on 10 and 28 January 2020 respectively.
2. The claims were joined and originally listed for a 3-day hearing in July
2020. The hearing proceeded as an in-person hearing with social
distancing in place, but the evidence was not completed in the time
available and so the hearing was adjourned, part-heard, and was listed for
a further 5 days in August 2020. Unfortunately, when the Tribunal
reconvened, on Monday 3 August 2020, it was reported that the
respondent’s witnesses had been taken ill with COVUD symptoms and
were required to self-isolate in accordance with UK Government
guidelines at the time. The hearing was therefore postponed initially until
Wednesday, 5 August 2020 and the witnesses were required to produce
their COVID test results to the Tribunal. The resumed hearing on 5 August
2020 was subsequently cancelled as the health position and availability of
the respondent’s witnesses remained unclear. On Thursday 6 August
2020, the hearing was adjourned upon the application of the respondent
and relisted on dates in October and December 2020. Unfortunately, the
December dates had to be postponed and relisted in January 2021 due to
witness unavailability and further dates were listed in March 2021.
3. As the oral evidence and submissions were completed only at the very
end of the eleventh hearing day, the Tribunal reserved its judgment. The
Tribunal is grateful to the parties, and to Counsel representing them, for
their patience and forbearance through the difficulties which have led to
the hearing of the claims becoming protracted.
Evidence
4. An agreed bundle of documents comprising 3 lever-arch files and 1173
numbered pages (which included numerous sub-numbered inserts) was
presented at the commencement of the hearing. Further documents were
introduced by the parties during the course of the hearing and formed a
second, separate bundle, labelled “A” of the additional documents. The
documents in the main bundle were not compiled in chronological order
and were often out of any logical order, making it difficult to follow the
sequence of events or to identify pertinent documents. Page numbers in
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