A businessman has sacked his wife via letter from his construction firm, following the collapse of their marriage, an industrial tribunal in the Midlands has heard.
According to the Birmingham Mail David Phillips, who runs Phillips Steel Construction, told the Birmingham tribunal that the decline in his relationship with his wife, Karen, meant that he could no longer work with her. He alleged that their relationship was harming the business.
Karen Phillips, who was seeking compensation for unfair dismissal and holiday pay, was a secretary and director at the firm. Phillips accused her of ‘insubordination’ in the office and complained that she would not do what he asked.
However, Matt Abdulla, representing Karen Phillips, told the tribunal that Mr Phillips had sacked his wife without following the correct disciplinary and dismissal procedure.
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The tribunal chairman, David Dimbylow, requested that the couple make a private arrangement, adding that he was likely to rule in Mrs Phillips’s favour that she had been unfairly dismissed because of the breach of disciplinary and dismissal procedures.
Following a short adjournment the couple agreed an undisclosed settlement, the newspaper reported.
