Apprentice star wins £21k unfair dismissal payment from software giant
But Kristina Grimes, who took Dezrez to an Employment Tribunal, is to pay the firm over £5,500 in lieu of its counter claims against her.
Property software supplier Dezrez has secured a financial settlement with its former TV star employee Kristina Grimes after years of legal wrangling.
The Apprentice contestant, who joined the firm in 2015, resigned in 2018 claiming a ‘breach of trust and confidence between employer and employee’ after the company moved her management responsibilities to a colleague following internal discussions about performance.
The dispute ended up in court during May 2019 after which DezRez counter-claimed over alleged misuse of a company credit card, disputed mileage expenses and telephone bills and damage to her company car, along with unreturned IT equipment.
Three years and nearly a dozen hearings later, the Employment Tribunal has now issued a ‘reserve remedy judgement’ following an earlier ruling.
This earlier ruling said that Grimes was constructively dismissed and agreed that the firm had breached her contract. Other claims were dismissed.
Monies owed
But the court agreed with Dezrez on the points relating to expenses, ‘monies owed’ and damage to a car.
The latest judgement awards Grimes £21,308 for unfair dismissal based upon a basic award of £2,286 and a compensatory award of £19,022, of which £15,606 is for lost earnings along with lost holiday pay, company car benefit and pension loss.
But Grimes must also pay DezRez £5,557 in lieu of the company’s counterclaims including £3,291 for the damage to the company car.
Grimes enjoyed brief fame in 2007 when she appeared in the BBC’s Apprentice programme as the show’s runner-up.
DezRez has previously declined to comment on the case.