Possible Constructive Dismissal - not sure if I could/should pursue this

[BarbBadger]

I worked for a company for 7 years with no issues - the company was recently taken over and I'm now the only one left - all my old team have found new jobs as they couldn't bear to continue with the new company.

The issues are:

1. No information made available to us about the change of business ownership/terms of our employment - just 2 meetings with the team and a manager and then given a couple of days notice that we needed to move to the new work site - regular customers also left in the dark - we were all told this move would be temporary but then told it was actually permanent
2. On arrival at the new work site my team were given no introductions to the other teams - no copies of work procedures etc - there's a real "them and us" feeling to the place and a reluctance from the other team to help us (new team) in the day to day work
3. The manager used to be a deputy manager at our old company - his attitude towards me feels like he's looking down on me all the time, speaks to me in a 'sneering' and sarcastic way and has told me that if I don't like it there then I should resign because everyone can see from the look on my face that I don't like working there
4. There have been a couple of instances where the manager has raised his voice at me and spoken rudely in front of customers and other team members, accusing me of doing something wrong (that I haven't) and telling me that a customer has complained about something I've done and berated me about that in front of others too - then mysteriously the complaint has gone away and having made a big thing of it, now it's just all gone away

I went off sick with stress following an argument with the manager where they just kept telling me over and over again that I should leave.

I'm still off sick now - I feel like I just can't go back there ever - my friends and family say I should put in a complaint - but the company grievance procedure says that once I've put a complaint in writing then I have to attend a grievance meeting within 5 days - I just can't face it.

I feel like I just want to hand in my notice and look for another job - but then I think about how they've treated me and I want the manager to face consequences for their behaviour. I definitely feel like I've been pushed out of my job.

Since the new company took over they haven't sorted my pay out properly so I feel like maybe the best thing to do is wait until they've sorted my pay arrears, then just hand in my resignation, and in the meantime start looking for another job while I'm still signed off by the doctor. But at the moment I feel too stressed and anxious to do anything.

I'm not sure what my question is - should I lodge my complaint/grievance or just put it all behind me and look to move on?

A constructive dismissal case is not easy to win and hard to say from your post if there is enough there.

You kind of gloss over what happened in point 1) which looks more like a possible breach in employment law, but I don’t understand factually what happened to your employment contract. It may be worth elaborating on this, including timelines such as what you mean by “recent”.

The later points you have gone into more detail but are to a point matters of opinion, for example “sneering and sarcastic” whilst I am sure we’re unpleasant for you, is still subjective, the other person can just say “no I wasn’t”.

Hi - many thanks for your time replying.

The staff at the old company were all called into a meeting in mid November, and told that the new company had taken over a year previously (but our company continued under it's existing name and none of us were told about the change - our existing contracts from the old company continued). We were asked for ideas of how we thought the company might be 'saved' as we all knew that there were managerial vacancies the company had been unable to fill.

The manager holding the meeting suggested that one way forward would be to close down our work site and for us all to move to the new Company's headquarters (about a 15 minute drive away, so not far).

The meeting was very much an informal chat with us all.

About a week later we were called into a further meeting and told the 'suggestion' discussed at the meeting would go ahead. But no timescale was given.

I then received a phone call while I was on holiday and told to report for work at the new location 3 days later (last week in November).

Originally we were told it would be a temporary move and after Christmas we could return to our old work location - but then, just before Christmas I was told that the move would now be permanent.

I've had none of this in writing - I was sent a new employment contract, which I signed, but then was immediately told there was a mistake in the contract and I will need to sign a new one.

I feel like they've done lots of things wrong - but at the end of the day I need an income, so I'm just job hunting like mad now.

I am reluctant to hand in my notice until they've sorted out my pay arrears - one of my old workmates left for a new job at the end of November and he's having a lot of issues getting the company to sort out some outstanding pay.

Thanks again - if feels like a really horrible way of ending a job that I really enjoyed for the last 7 years, which is a real shame.

Well the extra information leads me to think constructive dismissal is less likely. A move to an office fifteen minutes away is not a significant change and most companies would have this flexibility in contracts as they may have no choice but to move a short distance, e.g. the current lease is up, the building is condemned. Sounds like they could have communicated better and of course your contract shouldn’t have had a mistake, but these things do happen and this is not constructive dismissal territory.

I'm in quite a similar situation and have taken legal advice. The process I've been advised to follow is to begin by formally raising a grievance. And then the the lawyer approaches the company to propose that the matter instead be resolved via a settlement agreement, which would enable you to leave your employment with some financial compensation,. From your employer's perspective this is attractive as they avoid having to follow the grievance process, and also avoid the risk of you taking them to an employment tribunal in the future.

You can approach your employer directly if you don't want to pay a lawyer, but you will need to do your homework. Note that many employment law firms will offer an initial conversation free of charge.

From what you've said I certainly think you have a case to raise a grievance on grounds of bullying, and the impact this has had on your health. This seems like a more compelling argument than the change of work location to me.

Like you I wasn't sure whether I had a strong case for unfair dismissal or not, but my lawyer explained that what matters for most companies is to avoid the time and money of having to defend a case at tribunal, even if they think they will win. So in many cases they would rather settle given the opportunity. And if you're signed off sick and can't face the thought of going back it's probably best for everyone that your employment relationship ends.

Unfortunately I don’t think you are anywhere near constructive dismissal territory. Bear in mind that even if you can clear this hurdle (constructive dismissal means something happened that was so bad that you were forced to resign and were effectively dismissed) there might be no compensation. It’s possible that your company might pay you off to avoid the hassle of a tribunal - but I can’t see that you have any grounds to raise an action. If you are unhappy there - get a new job. You haven’t said anything that sounds unlawful though.

It sounds definitely shit and time to look for something that makes you happy, but things like being moved to an office 15 minutes away are not massive legal problems for the company, they seem fairly reasonable?