A
mother of two has won £14,500 damages from Yellow Pages after being forced to
change from working from home part-time to commuting to a full-time position at
the firm’s HQ.
CIPD
member Karen Bushnell, of Warsash, near Southampton, said she had to resign from
her post after a restructuring of the company in December 1999 made her
position untenable.
Yellow
Pages changed her job description from management training consultant to
training provider – a full-time job at the company’s headquarters in Slough, Berkshire.
Bushnell
told Personnel Today that working part-time had allowed her to look after her
two young children.
An
employment tribunal in Southampton found Yellow Pages had breached her contract
by making fundamental changes to her job description.
Bushnell
had worked for the company for 13 years before she resigned and had been
working part-time for three years. She said, “Although I am disappointed with
the money I have received, I see this as a victory for part-time workers.
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Richard
Duggleby, head of external relations for Yellow Pages, pointed out that the
company had won an Investors in People award and said, “We are genuinely very
surprised and disappointed by the outcome of the tribunal.
“We
have a history of excellent people satisfaction.”
