In the case of Mr R Galang v Kestrel Grove Nursing Home Mr Galang was employed as a domestic assistant at Kestrel Grove Nursing Home. Mr Galang was described by his manager, Mr Tripp, as ‘a good worker’. The tribunal was referred to various supervision documents recording Mr Galang’s good performance.
Mr Galang stated that in late March 2020 he began feeling unwell with symptoms known to be related to Covid 19. He called 111 and was advised to self-isolate until the end of March. He says that he continued to feel unwell and produced a fitness to work note from his GP covering the period up to the end of April.
He returned to work on 5 May. That day, Galang noticed that staff working in the kitchen were not wearing facemasks. He asked a colleague about it, who said it had been like that for a while. Galang then said he would raise the matter with the matron and added jokingly that if this was not actioned by the matron he would make a complaint to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which regulates care homes.
The same day, Tripp heard that Galang had threatened to report the care home to the CQC and decided to speak to him to explain the guidance on PPE and discuss his sick leave. Galang told the tribunal that he was scared when Tripp questioned him about his conversation with his colleague and initially denied it but then, when Tripp became angry and started shouting at him, admitted that he had made the remarks about contacting the CQC.
Tripp produced Galang’s documents relating to his absence from work and, according to Galang, continued to shout at him, pointing his finger in Galang’s face and calling him a liar and accusing him of lying to his GP about having Covid and falsifying doctors’ notes. He also said Tripp told him he was “not a loyal employee”, and that he was ungrateful, referring to previous help Galang had received from the company such as loans and holidays.
At the end of the meeting, Tripp warned that going forward he would be “on his [Galang’s] back every five minutes”. The tribunal heard that Galang felt “belittled and hurt” by this and told Tripp that, if he had made a mistake, disciplinary action could be taken.
On 7 May, Galang sent his resignation letter to the care home which said he “was treated appallingly”. The tribunal found that there was no investigation into allegations of dishonesty and there was no reason to suspect dishonesty on Galang’s part.
The tribunal also noted that, while it may be reasonable for an employer to raise serious allegations with employees, there was “no reasonable and proper cause for Tripp to shout at the claimant, to point his finger in the claimant’s face”, which the tribunal said were aggressive behaviours.
As a result, Judge Skehan ruled that Tripp’s actions constituted a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence which meant a breach of the employment contract, and considered that the care home was unable to identify a fair reason for the dismissal.
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