Guernsey
What was it about?
Constructive unfair dismissal and sex discrimination
What was the outcome?
The claim for constructive unfair dismissal was successful and the Applicant was awarded £76,068.
The claim for sex discrimination was successful and the Applicant was awarded £38,038.
What were the facts?
The Applicant worked in the Respondent’s corporate department. During the course of their employment, an investigation in relation to allegations of sexual assault against the Applicant was undertaken. Following that investigation, it was found that the allegations were unfounded.
However, there were serious issues with the investigation itself. For example, the Applicant was not kept in the loop regarding the allegations, and it seemed that the former colleague (who had made the allegation) was wanting to keep HR out of the picture. As a result of these (and other) failings and the resultant impact, the Applicant was off work with anxiety and depression. To make matters worse, the outcome of the investigation was not shared with the Applicant until 5 days after being shared with the complainant.
The Guernsey Tribunal did not look favourably upon the Respondent’s actions and described the Respondent’s “dereliction of responsibility in their duty of care towards [the Applicant]” as the key factor that caused their eventual resignation.
In relation to the sex discrimination claim, it was admitted by the Respondent that individual partners would determine salary increases for their own departments. When the Applicant was promoted to Head of Corporate, they did not receive a salary increase even though there was a significant increase in responsibility in their new role. The Tribunal looked at the pay difference with another Head of Department and found that there was a 57% difference in the pay.
The situation was further compounded when it was revealed that the Applicant had not received a pay increase in 2018 due to discussing the terms of their contract with others, contrary to the Applicant’s contractual obligations. However, it was revealed that other colleagues had done the same and yet had still received salary increases.
It was determined by the Tribunal that the Applicant was on a different pay regime to colleagues of a different sex and the claim of sex discrimination was upheld accordingly.
