Transfer of undertakings: Compensation for failure to consult on TUPE transfer

In Sweetin v Coral Racing EATS/0039/05, the EAT holds that the tribunal was correct to find that the claimant was not constructively dismissed on the basis that her employer's failure to deal with her grievance expeditiously amounted to a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. The claimant had failed to communicate effectively that she had a grievance before she resigned. However, the tribunal erred in awarding six weeks' pay for the employer's failure to consult under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. In the absence of any mitigating factors, and having categorised the failure to consult as "serious" and "gross", it was not open to the tribunal to award anything less than the equivalent of 13 weeks' pay.