From desk to departure: when moving an employee’s desk could lead to an unfair dismissal claim

April 1, 2025

From desk to departure: when moving an employee’s desk could lead to an unfair dismissal claim

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By Damian Phillips

In a recent Employment Tribunal case, a manager argued that moving his desk had symbolic significance and the Employment Tribunal agreed. Our employment law expert Damian Phillips explains why.

The Background

The claimant, Mr Walker, was the branch manager at the Rickmansworth branch of his employer from 2017 to 2022. He was then moved to the company’s Chorleywood branch as his employer had recruited someone else into his role at Rickmansworth.

In 2023, Mr Walker’s replacement resigned and he was informed that he would be moving back to the Rickmansworth branch. However, on his return to the branch, it came to light that his employer had had a discussion with a more junior manager, Mr Gooder, to split the role of manager with Mr Walker. This was something that Mr Walker was unaware of and his expectations were that he was returning to his old role as the branch manager.

The Case

A desk at the back of the office had symbolic significance as it was where the branch manager had traditionally sat; Mr Walker and his predecessors had sat at the back desk previously. However, when Mr Walker arrived back at the Rickmansworth branch, Mr Gooder was moved to the back desk.

There had still been no conversation with Mr Walker about the job share and he was upset as he understood the change in desk to indicate that he would be the assistant manager rather than the branch manager.

Mr Walker raised the matter with HR,  prompting his manager to respond with words to the effect that “he could not believe that a man of his age was making a fuss about a desk”. Mr Walker subsequently resigned and brought a claim for constructive unfair dismissal and age discrimination.

The Decision

The Tribunal found that moving Mr Walker to the middle desk formed part of a breach of the “implied term of trust and confidence”, which is contained in all contracts of employment.

He had not been told that he would be sharing the branch manager role with Mr Gooder. The Tribunal found that, from Mr Walker’s point of view, finding out that Mr Gooder was sitting at the back desk and he would be sitting at the middle desk amounted to being told that he would be assistant manager and Mr Gooder would be branch manager.

Either becoming assistant manager or becoming joint manager with Mr Gooder would have amounted to a demotion by comparison to the role he was performing at Chorleywood and that which he had performed at Rickmansworth previously, since at both offices he had been the sole manager in charge of the branch.

For this, and other reasons surrounding the employer’s handling of the dispute, the Tribunal therefore agreed that Mr Walker had been constructively unfairly dismissed.

The Lessons

• Changes to a contract require consent. If an employer makes changes to an employee’s job, without consent, including their tasks and duties but also something that symbolically indicates authority, the employee could allege that the employer has breached their contract of employment. If an employer fundamentally breaches their contract in this way, the employee could resign in response to the breach and claim constructive unfair dismissal.
• Communication is key. Employers should expressly consult with employees about proposed contractual changes and ensure they are followed up in writing.
• More changes are coming. The Employment Rights Bill will also legislate to remove the current threshold requiring employees to have been employed for 2 years before they’re eligible to bring an unfair dismissal claim, including constructive unfair dismissal. This is expected to significantly increase the number of unfair dismissal claims being taken to the Employment Tribunals.
• Legal advice is important. If you are planning to make changes to your employees’ contracts or working arrangements, seek legal advice on the proposals to make sure you are not putting the business at risk of litigation.

Our employment law experts have a wealth of experience dealing with unfair dismissals and employment disputes. If you need advice on a similar employment matter, get in touch with one of our experts using the contact form or via 02920 829 100 to see how we can support you.