This case involved a claim of constructive dismissal. The complainant had been a Retail Supervisor and submitted that she had been demoted following an open competition for a new role of 'Team Leader'. She claimed that there was no material difference between her current role as Retail Supervisor and that of the new advertised role of Team Leader. The complainant alleged that she had unsuccessfully attempted to raise her concerns about the situation prior to the competition and that in the circumstances a grievance procedure was not appropriate.

She claimed that she had been persuaded, by the Managing Director (MD) of the respondent company, to apply for the role of Team Leader, but to her shock was not successful. Instead, a less experienced colleague was appointed to the role and the complainant suffered great anxiety and stress as a result of the swapping of their roles. The complainant subsequently raised a number of concerns as to the new Team Leader's handling of her role and was told to make a formal grievance if she wished.

She submitted a formal grievance and two meetings were held on foot of same. After the second meeting, the complainant went out on certified sick leave and never returned. She resigned two months later as she felt she could not go back to the respondent company.

The respondent's MD stated that despite the complainant's role reverting to that of a Retail Assistant he did not deem it a demotion as the complainant had received a pay increase and her title did not change.

The Court held that the respondent's conduct was such that the complainant was entitled to terminate the contract of employment. The Court found that the tensions that arose, following the reversal of the roles, were foreseeable but the respondent did not put any measures in place to address this. Similarly, they did not contact the complainant in the seven week period she was out on sick leave, nor try to address the complaints in her resignation letter. Accordingly, the Court was satisfied that the respondent's actions and inactions entitled the complainant to terminate her employment, meaning she had been constructively dismissed. The Court found that neither of the job-back remedies were appropriate in the circumstances and awarded her monetary compensation.
http://www.lrc.ie/en/Cases/2017/October/UDD1747.html