“I would therefore like you to accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation. My last working day will be….”
Most employers at some point in their career will receive a letter which concludes something like the above.
Whether amicable or not, a clear and unambiguous notice of resignation in writing is helpful administratively for both parties when an employment relationship comes to an end.
Resigning in ‘the heat of the moment’
Things become more complicated when an employee resigns in the heat of the moment. At what point is storming out the office, clearing their desk, or simply saying “I’m done with this” enough to count as a resignation?
This was precisely the question asked of the Birmingham Employment Tribunal in the case of Natalie Cope v Razzle Dazzle Costumes Limited.
Case Background
Ms Cope had been employed for approximately four and a half years when a series of incidents took place that began to cause the relationship to break down.
She fell out with a colleague who eventually resigned, citing Ms Cope’s alleged bullying as the reason for her decision to leave. Ms Cope was made aware of the allegations and asked for reassurances from the company owners that matters would be sorted out properly.
She sought twice to have meetings with the owners of the small family-run business but was unsuccessful. One the second occasion, Ms Cope put her keys down on a desk and used the phrase “I’m done” while gesturing generally at the workspace.
An employee who witnessed this told the owners that she had resigned.
The Meeting
Ms Cope submitted a two-week fit note and tried to contact the owners again to arrange a meeting.
This meeting eventually took place during which she was told that they considered her to have resigned.
The employer had also re-engaged the other employee who had been involved in the original dispute.
The Resignation
The Birmingham Tribunal found that simply placing down the keys and saying “I’m done” in this context were not sufficient to be a clear and unambiguous resignation.
Ms Cope was agitated and visibly distressed at the time. Indeed, the Tribunal found that the company “took the opportunity to dispense with” Ms Cope rather than ascertain her actual intentions or providing any chance for ‘cooling off’ before acknowledging the resignation.
If the resignation were not effective, Ms Cope was therefore dismissed by the company at the later date of 24th September when it told her that they considered her to have resigned and subsequently told her not to return to work.
The company gave no fair reason to justify this dismissal and so Ms Cope’s claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal were both upheld.
She was awarded just under £7,500 including basic award, notice pay and loss of earnings.
Separate discrimination claims were not upheld.
An Employment Solicitor’s View
Chris Dobbs said: “This case is one of many in recent years which highlights the importance of employers making sure that an employee has clearly and unambiguously resigned.
“Heat of the moment” resignations can be valid, but it is always worth checking in with the employee after a cooling off period to ensure they actually want to resign and do not wish to reconsider.”
The takeaways for employers
Chris continues: “Aside from being good practice (and potentially resolving a dispute before it starts), making sure that the employee has resigned can help with clarifying termination dates, cause of the employment ending and also mitigation of loss arguments.
Not doing so, leads to the risk of the employer being deemed as the party who terminated the contract. If that happens, as in the case above, the burden is then on the employer to prove a fair reason for dismissal; “we thought the employee had resigned” will not cut it.”
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