Apprentice tribunal lingers on

Organisations that receive HR support from Employee Management Ltd (http://www.employeemanagement.co.uk) probably cannot fail to have noticed one especially high-profile employment tribunal over the past week – that of the former winner of TV series The Apprentice , Stella English, against the firm of Alan Sugar.

English, from Kent, emerged victorious on the BBC programme in 2010, and was subsequently employed by Viglen, Lord Sugar’s IT services provider. However, she has now brought a constructive dismissal claim against the firm.  English told the East London Employment Tribunal that she had no real role at Viglen and added that being told that her £100,000 a year contract would not be renewed had left her with no option but to resign.

The 34-year old from Whitstable said that she had only seen Lord Sugar on five occasions during her 13 months at Viglen and that her boss, Bordan Tkachuk, had given her a look of “contempt” on her first day, telling her that “there is no job”.  She alleged that during a four-month probationary period she had access to a desk and phone and was given only basic administrative tasks to carry out.

Ms English described her employment as a “sham”, adding that “the career-enhancing opportunities that The Apprentice position had been sold as simply failed to materialise.” She said that she “did not want to be a troublemaker”, but had nonetheless told Lord Sugar: “I have tried so hard for so long and it's not working. I'm an overpaid lackey.”

The tribunal heard that Lord Sugar responded by offering her a role in another company, YouView, which she commenced in June 2011, only for similar problems to be encountered – culminating in her being told in September that her contract would not be renewed. She described the decision as “the bombshell that I wasn't really expecting at all”, and said that she had begun to enjoy her work at YouView and was aiming at a position in business development management.

In his witness statement, Lord Sugar described Ms English’s claim as “simply an attempt to extract money from me... something I will not do. I have principles which I have spoken about on abuse of law.” He described Ms English as an “untrusting and suspicious person” and a “serial liar” who was full of “conspiracy theories”. He added that in hindsight, he would not have hired her or offered her the position at YouView, which he described as having “come back and slapped me in the face.”

"I began to think that perhaps the reality of work, rather than the glamour of show business, was beginning to bite with her," he added. Judgement has been reserved in the case, with the tribunal panel set to make a decision within a month.

Conflicts like these show the potential value of having effective means of dispute resolution, as well as demonstrating the challenges posed to all employers (even Lord Sugar) by employment tribunals. Employee Management Ltd (http://www.employeemanagement.co.uk) provide a wide range of HR and Employment Law services to support organisations in meeting these challenges, including employment tribunal representation.

Editor’s Note: Employee Management Ltd (http://www.employeemanagement.co.uk) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.