Border-Line Constructive Dismissal?

When your boss is the Home Secretary and her remarks are broadcast across the land, your decision may well be justified.

However, in the vast majority of cases, resignation as a knee-jerk reaction to your employer’s unreasonable conduct is not likely to provide a good basis for claiming constructive unfair dismissal.

The law has for a long time been clear that an employee should not normally abandon ship without having made some attempt to resolve matters internally.

In Brodie Clark’s case, the UK Border Agency is likely to argue that as his suspension was justified to enable an investigation to be carried out and that as he would have had an opportunity to challenge any allegations laid against him, he ought to have waited.

To succeed in his claim of constructive dismissal, therefore, Clark will need to prove that Theresa May’s comments to the Parliamentary Committee were sufficiently prejudicial and damning of him that a fair hearing was rendered impossible and that the trust and confidence he previously had in his employers is gone. Even so, a technical win in tribunal will not clear Clark’s name unless the forthcoming investigation concludes that he did nothing wrong.

Is a clash of personalities between a senior employee and a junior employee a sufficient reason to dismiss?

Jennifer Smith (Employment Solicitor)

Not necessarily, so act with caution! If you think you have an issue with a personality clash between employees, you should take a very careful and well thought out approach to avoid an employment law claim. 

Firstly, let’s go back to basics – where an employee is eligible to claim unfair dismissal, they must have 12 months service, and you must have a ‘potentially’ fair reason for dismissal and also act reasonably, in all the circumstances, in dismissing for that reason. So what are the six potentially fair reasons to dismiss? Read more »

Revisions made to Unfair Dismissal Compensation

Jennifer Smith (Employment Solicitor)