Summary

How Irina Polyakova, our Associate in the Employment team, has successfully negotiated a financial settlement in the employee’s constructive unfair dismissal claim.

The background

Irina’s client was subjected to bullying and humiliating treatment over a period of time due to suffering from \dyslexia, which had severely impacted his performance, physical and mental health. He was denied promotion and training opportunities and threatened with a dismissal over a minor issue. When he was signed off sick, the employer had advertised his job before concluding disciplinary proceedings. Our client was experiencing a complete breakdown of trust and confidence in his working relationship with his employer. He understandably felt he had been mistreated. His employer’s conduct was causing him a great deal of stress and anxiety and he was unable to continue in his job.

What we did

We advised our client that he had good prospects of bringing a claim of constructive dismissal on the basis that the employer’s conduct was repudiatory and that he could resign in response to this. We prepared a robust grievance letter together with a Data Subject Access Request to obtain as much evidence as possible to substantiate his claim. We also made a settlement proposal offering an amicable solution whereby our client was paid appropriate compensation for the termination of his employment.

We carried out settlement negotiations on behalf of our client. Although the employer’s opening offer was not satisfactory, we successfully negotiated a higher settlement amount and concluded the matter by way of a Settlement Agreement. Our client saved time and money of issuing legal proceedings at an Employment Tribunal and walked into a new job soon after accepting the settlement.

Further information

If you believe that your employer has been in breach of your contract and require advice on how to raise a grievance and conduct settlement negotiations, please contact Irina Polyakova on 01484 821344 or e-mail irinapolyakova@eatonsmith.co.uk.