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Original poster

Constructive dismissal

17 replies

NewYearNiki · 18/01/2018 13:44

Asking about a friend.

She was on sick leave, they tried to make her redundant and she dug her heels in. Asked them to stop until she recovered.

She had also moved a couple of hundred miles away from the office in London and had requested to work remotely from her new location. They weren't up for it.

She also recovered a bit and started looking for new jobs as she didn't want to work for them anymore. She had alot of interest.

So I said why don't you take the redundancy get them to make a good settlement and you'll have a new job soon anyway.

Only she didn't. She didnt accept redundancy, got a new job, resigned and is now claiming constructive dismissal. But then she has mitigated most of her loss by getting a new job anyway.

I'm a bit worried is the way she did it a bit risky. I always thought that constructive dismissal was very hard to prove.

OP posts:

user187656748 · 18/01/2018 13:48

It is. She was probably foolish. Difficult to tell without knowing the reasons why she says she was constructively dismissed but as well as constructive dismissal being hard to prove, the compensation is based on actual financial loss and so if she has another job, that element of any award is likely to be minimal.

MyBrilliantDisguise · 18/01/2018 13:49

Moving a couple of hundred miles away and expecting them to let her work from home was crazy unless she was already working from home.

Original poster

NewYearNiki · 18/01/2018 13:58

What worries me is she also frustrated it a bit by first moving so far away and requesting remote working which tbh they can say no to and then knowing she wanted to leave but not taking redundancy

I would have taken the redundancy and taken the new job.

She is trying to claim additional damages for bullying behaviour and disability discrimination but I'm also concerned she was arguing with them to postpone redundancy until she recovers until only very recently and now suddenly she has recovered out of nowhere and we'll enough to work again.

OP posts:

user187656748 · 18/01/2018 14:02

She needs to take legal advice on the claim. its too complex to advise on over the internet without all of the detail.

Original poster

NewYearNiki · 18/01/2018 14:05

I know. She has taken legal advice. She hasn't told me what that advice was.

She only sent me the letter they sent to her employer which I remarked was a big standard letter before action and doesn't tell me much .

I am a solicitor myself. Not an employment solicitor though.

OP posts:

flowery · 18/01/2018 14:21

From what you say I can't see how she thinks she has a case for constructive dismissal. She moved 200 miles away, how is that them forcing her to resign?!

Anyway, even if she had a solid case it would be completely pointless pursuing it, as compensation would be based purely on financial loss, and if she already has a new job, her financial loss will be nothing or very little, as you said.

I imagine she is cross with herself for not taking a redundancy payment, and is lashing out/trying to recover that. She is best not bothering, but not a lot you can do really.

BakedBeans47 · 18/01/2018 14:33

Based on the limited info here the constructive unfair dismissal argument sounds weak. As she has another job even if she won her compensation may well be limited because of that. There really isn’t enough info to comment on her potential discrimination claims.

user187656748 · 18/01/2018 19:18

Bit odd all round. We don't do letters before action in the employment tribunal and so she's unlikely to have received the best advice.

Original poster

NewYearNiki · 18/01/2018 22:31

What do you do then user?

It was a massive long letter with a detailed chronology and stated the damages they were seeking and would move to.litigate if settlement proposals not received.

To me that looked and sounded like a LBA.

OP posts:

user187656748 · 18/01/2018 22:34

Ah I see. I meant we don't have to send a letter before action. But yes it would be an option to send that sort of letter in the hope that it resulted in an offer racked up some fees. Approach via the ACAS process would be more productive and far quicker though.

I don't do a great deal of claimant work anymore since on the whole claimants don't listen to advice and don't like to pay bills!

BritInUS1 · 18/01/2018 22:34

Not a lawyer, but sounds very unlikely she has any sort of claim

She moved 200 miles away, asked to work from home and they said no

I can't see any grounds for a claim from what you have said

McTufty · 18/01/2018 22:36

Doesn’t sound like the employer has acted badly enough for a constructive dismissal based on the info here.The fact she resigned when she got a new job will make it hard for her to show that her employer’s alleged breaches of contract were the reason for her resignation anyway.

If there was disability discrimination then that’s a stand-alone claim regardless of the constructive dismissal. There is no cause of action for bullying though.

Bouledeneige · 18/01/2018 23:14

She would have been much better off going for redundancy. But she is probably seeking a settlement rather than going through with constructive dismissal - as you say she's mitigated her risk now with the new job. Unless there are other mitigating factors like sexual or race discrimination, that she was in may leave, I think she has been very poorly advised.

k2p2k2tog · 20/01/2018 08:17

It was a massive long letter with a detailed chronology and stated the damages they were seeking and would move to.litigate if settlement proposals not received.

Sounds to me - and I'm not a lawyer - that it was a cheeky letter in the hope of getting some cash. Send an official looking letter from a lawyer to scare the bejesus out of the employer in the hope they'll bung her a few thousand quid to shut up and go away. Legal cases are expensive, time consuming and can result in a lot of negative publicity, however it turns out in the end.

daisychain01 · 20/01/2018 09:10

Send an official looking letter from a lawyer to scare the bejesus out of the employer in the hope they'll bung her a few thousand quid to shut up and go away

This probably wouldn't even make them break sweat, I'm afraid

OPs friend would have had to take out a grievance with significant evidence of contractual wrongdoing, enter a claim at Tribunal in the right timescales and show determination to appear in the Tribunal.

Based purely on what is described in the OP, there doesn't seem to be any case for CD claim, and the court may even deem it to be quite vexatious, so wouldn't allow the case to go ahead.

daisychain01 · 20/01/2018 09:12

Oh, and they would need to have already resigned citing their grounds for CD.

greendale17 · 20/01/2018 09:12

From what you say I can't see how she thinks she has a case for constructive dismissal. She moved 200 miles away, how is that them forcing her to resign?!

^Anyone with a brain can see that OPs friend is clutching at straws

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