A worker in an office who was ignored repeatedly by her manager when she welcomed him won a case for unfair dismissal.
Nadine Hanson who worked for Interaction Recruitment Ltd in September 2023 said hello three times to Andrew Gilchrist, the managing director of the company, but he did not reply.
Mr Gilchrist was angry because he thought that she was late for work. He didn’t realize she had gone to a doctor appointment.
He pushed the phone out of her way when Ms Hanson showed proof of the appointment. He suggested she leave. He sent two emails the following hour to Ms Hanson’s employees, awarding them raises in pay without telling her.
The tribunal Judge said: “He was already convinced that she was not pulling her weight, and that she was “dumping” her work on her co-workers and was critical of that. He hadn’t had a proper conversation or discussion with her about the work she performed, where it was done and when.
In October 2023 Ms Hanson resigned, stating that she felt “undervalued”. She was also signed off from work because of anxiety brought on by her treatment.
She will now be entitled to compensation for her unfair dismissal case against the company. She also won a claim for unauthorised deductions from her wages, after Mr Gilchrist withheld her sick pay because he did not think she was truly ill.
The judge of the tribunal said: “The claimant felt humiliated, and she felt rightly that she didn’t belong and wasn’t wanted.”
Nicola Brown explains that the case was successful not only because the director and owner of the company refused a hello, but also due to a number of factors which allowed her to claim she had been fired.
She said: “There’s an unwritten clause in every employment contract that requires both employers and employees treat each other fairly, known as the mutual trust and confidentiality duty. If the duty is breached seriously, either party can terminate the contract.
Brown says that a serious breach of duty can occur with an important one-off incident, but it is more likely to happen when a series of smaller incidents build up to the ‘last straw’. This seems to be the case with Ms Hanson.
She said: “Employers should learn from this case that even minor incidents can add up and lead to an employee filing a claim. It is therefore important for all employees, but especially managers, to treat each other with respect.”
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