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The employee was employed as a maintenance technician with Acuman Facilities Management, which went into liquidation in October 2014. The employee had been recruited in May 2012 and the employment was uneventful until he was summoned to a disciplinary meeting in October 2013. According to the employee, he was not provided with full details of the allegations prior to the meeting and the meeting lasted for 4.5 hours, without a break. He alleged the line of questioning was aggressive and the manager repeated his questions until the employee agreed with him, which he says he eventually did in order to conclude the meeting.
The employee claimed that the disciplinary allegations were unfounded and he felt that the company was looking to dismiss him. The employee left work on sick leave and a few days later met with the HR manager at a hotel. The employee was advised that no further action was to be taken following the disciplinary meeting, however the employee felt there was still an implication that he was at fault. The employee submitted a written grievance. Attempts to resolve the grievance informally were unsuccessful and he ultimately requested that the grievance should be formally investigated. The employee felt that the HR manager’s attitude changed at this point and he was threatened with further disciplinary action. Following an absence on stress-related sick leave, the employee ultimately resigned. He continued to engage in the grievance process, even after his termination of employment. However, following some discussions, the employer later failed to respond.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal (the “EAT”) noted that the employee had given evidence of isolation, bullying and harassment which affected his health. The EAT felt that the employee was a truthful witness and found that he was constructively dismissed. The employee was unemployed for a relatively short period and therefore had limited financial loss. He was awarded a sum of €20,000 under the Unfair Dismissals Acts. This sum included a figure of €15,000 to compensate the employee for the difference in salary between his previous and current employment. It should be noted that the employer / liquidator did not appear at the hearing and the employee’s evidence was therefore uncontested.
Nevertheless, the case is a relatively rare example of a successful constructive dismissal claim and reminds employers to follow a fair process in both disciplinary and grievance procedures. A full copy of the decision can be viewed here.