Not saying hello to a colleague could break employment laws, a tribunal has suggested.
The ruling came in the case of a recruitment manager who won an unfair dismissal claim after complaining that her managing director refused to say hello to her.
Nadine Hanson had greeted Andrew Gilchrist, her new boss, three times when she arrived for work in September 2023 but was deliberately ignored every time, the employment tribunal heard.
Mr Gilchrist, 62, was angry at Ms Hanson because he thought she was late when in fact she had been at a medical appointment.
Ms Hanson won her claim and Employment Judge Sarah Davies concluded that his behaviour was “unreasonable”.
“That is conduct, from the owner and director of the new employer, that is calculated or likely to undermine trust and confidence,” she said. “While it might not, by itself, be a fundamental breach of contract, it was capable of contributing to such a breach.”
Mr Gilchrist had just taken over as managing director of Interaction Recruitment, which had 30 offices in England at the time. The firm had acquired another recruitment company, which was not named in proceedings, where Ms Hanson was northern regional operations manager.
Mr Gilchrist travelled to Scunthorpe, in Lincs, to meet Ms Hanson and two employees who she managed. The tribunal, in Leeds, found that after a “get to know you” meeting of less than an hour, Mr Gilchrist formed an unwarranted “snap judgment” of Ms Hanson that she was not pulling her weight.
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