Background:

The Complainant commenced employment as a senior instructor with the Respondent, a residential and respite care service provider for intellectually disabled children and adults, in September 2017. From January 2018 the Complainant said she encountered problems with her line manager. The line manager was allegedly inappropriate and unprofessional, and this included a number of instances which amounted to sexual harassment. The Complainant did not report her line manager in this regard until December 2019 under its Dignity, Respect and Equality in the Workplace policy. The Complainant alleged she was only advised of the outcome of this investigation on 29 June 2020 and was in no way compliant with the Respondent’s policy to complete it in ten days.

In June 2020 the Complainant was advised her line manager had been dismissed due to sexual harassment. In the aftermath of this, the Complainant said she was obliged to work with her former manager’s partner and others who had personal relationships with her former manager. The Complainant said she felt nervous about this and that this nervousness led to serious anxiety and mental health issues which were inadequately addressed by the Respondent. On 1 February 2021 the Complainant resigned, with effect from 28 February 2021, alleging that her mental health had deteriorated due to work-related issues to such an extent that she had no choice but to resign.

The Respondent acknowledged the complaint and the outcome regarding the manager. However, in defence, the Respondent said it attempted to do everything within its power to accommodate and address the issues raised by the Complainant. The Respondent said that the Complainant did not use all of its internal processes to address her concerns, including its grievance and disciplinary procedures. The Respondent also wrote to the Complainant after her resignation level offering to do whatever was necessary to allow her to continue her work with the Respondent.

Outcome:

The Adjudication Officer, having regard tothe high standard required for constructive dismissal, found that the Complainant had not fully exhausted the options available to her to address her concerns internally within the Respondent. She did not utilise the grievance procedure and did not respond to the letter from the Respondent offering further assistance to allow her to stay. On that basis, the complaint was found to be not well-founded.

Practical Guidance for Employers:

Even if an employee is a victim of sexual harassment, employers can avoid a claim of constructive unfair dismissal on the part of the victim if they offer legitimate avenues for that employee to pursue and address ongoing concerns arising from those actions.

The full case is here:
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2024/january/adj-00032309.html