Gray v Allens: Constructive Dismissal Decision
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The Plaintiff in this Action (the “Employee”) sued our client, the Defendant Corporation (the “Employer”) for Constructive Dismissal. The bases for her argument were threefold: firstly, that her hours were unilaterally cut by the Employer, thereby changing her employment contract to such a degree that it was no longer the same job and disregarding her seniority; secondly, that the Employer failed to protect her from harassment at work; and thirdly, that the Employer did not make accommodations for her medical condition.
At the three-day Small Claims trial, the evidence showed, among other things, that the Employer only altered the Employees hours at her request, that the harassment, which was based in an acrimonious relationship between the Employee and another employee, was taken seriously and dealt with promptly, and that the Employer had no indication of the Employee’s medical issues and therefore could not have done anything to accommodate her. On cross-examination, the Employee’s own doctor admitted that there was no evidence that the Employee’s medical condition, her anxiety, was symptomatic of her work environment.
The Employee was seeking damages in the amount of $25,000. She had worked for the Employer for 15 years. Had she been constructively dismissed, this amount would have been fair. However, the evidence did not support her allegations. Deputy Justice Ferranti was attentive to all witnesses, including the Plaintiff, the owner and manager of the Defendant corporation, as well as the Plaintiff’s doctor, and several past and present employees of the Defendant.
In the end, after his own detailed review of the evidence and submissions, Deputy Justice Ferranti concluded that the Employee was not constructively dismissed and the case was dismissed.