Disability and resignation: Tribunal rules on employee's right to rescind

We are often asked whether an employee can validly rescind their resignation once it has been given. We usually examine the circumstances of that resignation and where it appears to have been given “in the heat of the moment” and then we would advise that the employee is given time to cool off and consider their position.

Although some resignations can be met with enthusiasm (“ahem”), it is always important to review the risk and consider whether acceptance and refusal to allow them to later rescind their resignation, could amount to a dismissal.

Bradley v Royal Mint

In Bradley v Royal Mint the Cardiff Employment Tribunal dealt with an intriguing issue where it was claimed that the resignation had been impacted by prescription medication for depression and menopause. The Claimant, Ms Bradley, had worked in the HR department of the Royal Mint for over a decade. It was conceded that her condition amounted to a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act and noted that it often led to aggressive outbursts in the office. She had also been known to walk out of meetings. The evidence stated that she had attempted to resign at least twice before but her manager had declined to accept given her agitated state on those occasions.

In 2022 her resignation was delivered in what appeared to be a calm and considered state. She liaised with her employer over the announcement of her departure and seemed keen to pursue other opportunities. So far, so good. However, she then requested to rescind her resignation and cited her mental health condition as the reason for her resignation.

The ET found that initial acceptance of her resignation was not a problem. However once she had tried to rescind it and alleged disability-related reasons for the resignation, the employer should have taken steps to assess whether or not that could be the case and, therefore, whether they should allow the revocation. Had they done so, they would have been in a stronger position to establish justification – in that the refusal was a potentially proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Key takeaways for employers

Regular readers will be aware that we always advise obtaining medical opinion (often in the form of an up-to-date Occupational Health report) before making any decisions. This is because whilst you as the employer are not expected to have medical knowledge yourself, you are expected to have obtained it before dismissing a suggestion about its impact.

Although we cannot know for sure, it might have been that careful consideration of medical opinion at the time would have given the employer the necessary grounds for establishing that revocation of the resignation would cause commercial damage, instability etc. once it had been enacted and therefore that a fair balancing exercise was undertaken in making the decision. Instead, they had not sought this information and therefore were unable to justify their decision on this basis.

As a result, the claim for discrimination arising from a disability was well founded. Other claims for direct discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments were rejected and remedy is yet to be awarded.