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Employee “pushed to resign” by management was unfairly dismissed

Published May 26, 2023

A recent tribunal has found that an Operations Manager was unfairly dismissed after senior management and HR were found to have “basically pushed him to resign.”   

The employee worked for AGTC in Pangbourne as Operations Manager between 2018 and 2021. During this period his relationship with a Buyer deteriorated to the point where she made disparaging remarks about him on a work WhatsApp group to which they were both members. But the Buyer had only intended for the message to be sent privately to a colleague. 

In response, the employee raised a grievance citing bullying by the Buyer over a period of months. The Co-Founder of the business held an informal meeting with the Operations Manager and Buyer during which she apologised. But the Co-Founder took no further action to investigate or close out the grievance believing the meeting to have “cleared the air.”

The Co-Founder then began a review of the organisation’s structure and decided a Head of Operations role was required. But during a team meeting the Co-Founder openly informed the employee he would not be chosen for the new post. During a subsequent discussion, the Co-Founder also told the employee that his disagreement with the Buyer made him unsuitable for the role.

Soon after the employee was diagnosed with depression. During a subsequent phone conversation, the Co-Founder told the employee he thought he was “disengaged” and had “switched off.” The employee responded by saying he felt unsupported by colleagues and referred to the issues with the Buyer. Soon after the employee told HR that his depression was a result of factors including bullying by the Buyer. 

The tribunal heard evidence that around this time the MD, Co-Founder and HR had discussions about the employee persistently raising complaints about bullying and the way his grievance had been managed. The tribunal noted management's frustration that the issues were repeatedly being raised. 

The MD then put in writing his thoughts about potentially relocating the employee’s job and said “Don’t sack him but basically push him to resign.”

The employee then sent a new grievance to the Co-Founder expressing dissatisfaction with how his original grievance about the Buyer had been handled. HR investigated the new grievance but subsequently dismissed it in writing. 

Then the employee and another colleague were called to consultation meetings and informed that their roles were at risk due to a restructuring. Part of the proposal was the relocation of operational roles to Sheffield where it might be “more efficient.” The employee was made redundant and a subsequent appeal was rejected.

Tribunal findings

The Tribunal found that the employer saw the relocation of the operations department as an opportunity to dismiss the Operations Manager. The judge determined that the employer had decided it would dismiss the employee “because of his perceived effect on the workplace and perceived performance problems. It then set about finding a mechanism to do so."

The judge found that the company did not adequately investigate the problems it was experiencing with the employee. It investigated his second grievance but the overall grievance investigation was not fairly conducted. The dismissal by reason of redundancy was found to amount to unfair dismissal.

Learning for employers

This case provides many lessons for employers on how to manage internal processes to avoid an escalation to legal proceedings. Here are the key lessons to note:  

  • Limit writing all comments (e.g. emails, meeting notes, etc) about employees as these are potentially disclosable under GDPR and for Tribunal proceedings.
  • Grievances need to be acknowledged in writing and employees should be invited to a grievance hearing.  
  • Grievances need to be thoroughly investigated and a written outcome provided.
  • A right of appeal to a grievance outcome is a legal requirement plus it enables a review of the initial process and helps prevent situations from escalating.
  • Where an employee continually raises old grievances inform the employee that the matter is closed. Explain that unless there is any new information they wish to provide then they are required to stop raising the issue.
  • Ensure you have a genuine reason for any proposed redundancy. Ensure you have evidence to demonstrate your need to consider redundancies before informing an employee their role is at risk.

Gavin Parrott, Employment Law and HR Advisor