The Labour Court has affirmed a decision that nurse Ms Deepa Philip’s unfair dismissal complaint against St James’ Hospital was not well founded. The Court’s determination, dated 1 March 2023, rejected her appeal over her claim that she was constructively dismissed.
Philip said her suspension, the handling of her grievance and pressure to resign left her with no choice but to leave. The hospital said she remained on paid suspension while an investigation was pending and chose to resign rather than take part.
The Court found Philip’s employment did not end when she was suspended in December 2018. It also found the hospital had not committed a repudiatory breach of her contract and that she could have stayed and taken part in the investigation. The Court said she had not fully used the hospital’s grievance procedure before resigning. Constructive dismissal is when an employee resigns because the employer’s conduct leaves them no reasonable choice but to leave.