In Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth, Agoreyo (‘A’), a teacher, was involved in three incidents where she considered it necessary to use a degree of force to secure a child’s behavioural compliance. ‘A’’s line manager had looked into two of the incidents, but decided that disciplinary action was not merited.  Nevertheless, ‘A’ was suspended so a ‘fair’ investigation could be conducted into allegations of using unreasonable force.  ‘A’ resigned and brought a claim for a repudiatory breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence as suspension was not reasonable or necessary in order for the investigation to take place. The High Court upheld ‘A’’s claim. There was no attempt to ascertain ‘A’’s version of events, or consideration of alternatives to suspension. The suspension was “largely a knee-jerk reaction” and breached trust and confidence, particularly given that two of the incidents had previously been investigated and had not been considered worthy of disciplinary action.

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