O'Brien v Eagle Star Insurance Co Ltd

EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL 58 VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, LONDON EC4Y 0DS At the Tribunal On 1 February 1999 Judgment delivered on 18 March 1999 Before

JUDGE PETER CLARK : The appellant, Mrs O'Brien commenced employment with the respondent, Eagle Star, as an audio typist in August 1981. She resigned from that employment on 19th January 1998 in circumstances which she alleged amounted to constructive dismissal. She then promptly presented a complaint of unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal.

The claim was heard by a tribunal sitting at London (South) (Chairman: Mrs F J Silverman) on 12th to 14th May 1998. By a decision with extended reasons promulgated on 5th June 1998 the tribunal dismissed her complaint. Against that decision she has appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal by Notice dated 24th June 1998. Her request for a review of the tribunal's decision was dismissed by the Chairman by a decision dated 23rd June.

The background to her resignation appears fully from the tribunal's reasons. In short, she began to exhibit bizarre behaviour in the office. She was convinced that fellow workers were spraying her with noxious substances which she could neither smell nor feel. She took to wearing protective headgear and facial coverings to ward off the effects of the spraying.

Eventually her employers suggested that she consult a doctor. She refused. They called in their own doctor, Dr Goodman. She would not see him. From his observations of her he advised that she be suspended on full pay until she was certified fit for work by her own doctor. She would not consult him, saying that she was not unwell. Nor would she authorise the release of her medical records to Dr Goodman.