April 18, 2008
Guru has had some ball-breaking bosses in his time, but nothing like Mr Lawrence, the central character in an employment appeal tribunal judgement Yours Truly was alerted to this week.
Former Peugeot dealership salesman Terence Parsons brought the successful appeal against the decision by an employment tribunal to turn down his claim of constructive unfair dismissal from Bristol Street Motors.
Parsons convinced the court that the behaviour his former manager, Mr Lawrence himself, caused his resignation in July 2005.
Parsons’ colleague Mr Lovelock told the original tribunal he had seen Parsons “beaten quite black and blue”. He also spoke of Mr Lawrence “habitually grabbing colleagues or striking them in the testicles”.
Ouch.
But Mr Lawrence – who sounds like the host of a Japanese game show – had a sound defence.
“While agreeing that he was tactile at work, Mr Lawrence denied assaulting anyone,” read the irony-free judgement.
The tribunal concluded that Mr Lawrence was indiscriminately tactile with staff “whom he slapped on the back, punched in the arm or otherwise touched”.
It said the behaviour was applied to everyone, and rejected Lovelock's evidence that the Claimant was beaten black and blue and grabbed staff by the testicles.
However, this was overturned by the appeal tribunal.
The appeal judgement read: “It is, we think, plain that the treatment of the claimant by Mr Lawrence as found, regardless of whether that treatment was in part applied to other members of staff, is such as to be likely objectively viewed to destroy the employment relationship.”
What a balls-up.
