Claimant v AstraZeneca UK Limited
Outcome
Individual claims
The tribunal found that only the failure to follow flexible working procedures in June 2021 was a breach of the duty of trust and confidence, but the claimant had affirmed the contract by accepting a promotion, continuing to work for 18 months, and expressing willingness to work part-time until April 2024 to receive a bonus. The claimant resigned because she had decided to take new employment by July 2023, not because of any fundamental breach. The alleged 'last straw' (steriliser validation project) was found to be innocuous and added nothing to prior breaches.
The claimant had originally included a sex discrimination complaint but it was no longer pursued at the time of the hearing, therefore not determined.
Facts
The claimant worked for AstraZeneca from February 2017 to January 2024 as a technical manager. She made two flexible working requests in 2020 and 2021 which were not properly handled by her manager, who told her she needed to choose between a career or part-time work. She was excluded from a 2022 recruitment process that did not follow policy. She raised concerns about an investigation she conducted in 2023 being overruled, job title changes, and a steriliser validation project. She resigned in December 2023, having already decided to take new employment by July 2023, completing pre-employment checks and medical assessments for that role.
Decision
The tribunal found that the respondent's complete failure to follow flexible working procedures in June 2021 was a breach of the duty of trust and confidence, but the claimant had affirmed the contract by accepting a promotion, continuing to work for 18 months without protest, and expressing willingness to remain employed until April 2024 to receive a bonus. The real reason for resignation was the claimant's decision to take new employment. The claim for constructive unfair dismissal therefore failed.
Practical note
Even where an employer commits a fundamental breach of contract, a constructive dismissal claim will fail if the employee has affirmed the contract through their subsequent conduct (such as accepting promotion and continuing to work without protest) and the true reason for resignation is taking new employment rather than responding to the breach.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 2402464/2024
- Decision date
- 20 June 2025
- Hearing type
- full merits
- Hearing days
- 4
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Sector
- healthcare
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- barrister
Employment details
- Role
- Sterile Support Team Technical Manager
- Service
- 7 years
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No