Employee wins Tribunal because her boss ignored her

Employee wins Tribunal because her boss ignored her

An Employment Tribunal has found that an employee was unfairly dismissed after being ignored by her boss when she said hello to him.

After a small disagreement, the boss began ignoring her, and when she arrived late for work after a medical appointment, the boss ignored her greetings. He also pushed away her phone when she tried to show proof of her medical appointment and then awarded two colleagues pay increases but not her, without explanation.

This led to a constructive dismissal claim where the Claimant was able to successfully demonstrate that the behaviour of the boss was such that it seriously damaged the relationship of trust and confidence between employer and employee.

The full judgment can be found here.

The lessons from this, for the already beleaguered HR Manager or owner, is that being a boss/manager requires the ability to rise above petty slights and act professionally.  Employers, if they are to avoid constructive unfair dismissal claims, need to ensure that the managers they appoint have that ability, to be even handed, and rise above the sometimes heavy provocations of employees who appear to hide behind their rights.

The best advice to HR Managers when faced with grievances or complaints from employees who may issue constructive unfair dismissal claims, is to step back and look objectively. The easiest way to remember the legal test, is “Would YOU, knowing what that employee knows, feel that all the trust was gone?”  If the answer is Yes, then you are at risk of a claim.

If you have any questions about this article, Ellie Forsyth is a lawyer in the Sherbornes Employment Team and can be contacted on Ellie@Sherborneslaw.co.uk