Estate agency to pay former employee compensation for unfair dismissal

Employment Tribunal find in favour of North East agent after employer fails to defend claim by former employee.

estate agency employment tribunal

An estate agent in Newcastle-upon-Tyne has won compensation for unfair dismissal after successfully taking her employer to an Employment Tribunal.

Deborah Maugham Dixon, who had worked as a letting agent for North East based 12-branch estate agency Hegartys from August 2015 until she was dismissed on 7th January 2021, is to be paid £1,325.

This follows her successful claim via an Employment Tribunal hearing in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Maugham-Dixon, who lives in North Yorkshire and did not attend the hearing in person, informed the tribunal that she was unfairly constructively dismissed and is entitled to a basic award.
A claim form was served upon Hegartys on 26th May this year and the estate agency was required to give its response to her claim no later than 23rd June.

But estate agency Hegartys failed to complete and return the paperwork in time.

New job

Maugham-Dixon, who is married with two children, told the tribunal that she had found another job the day after her dismissal from Hegartys and is understood to be working for one of the North East’s largest housing associations.

The tribunal’s decision, which was delivered by Judge Johnson, did not reveal the reason for her unfair construction dismissal, which is the more serious of the two kinds of unfair dismissal.

But common reasons for employees to claim unfair constructive dismissal include being demoted suddenly for no apparent reason, not being paid, being forced to accept unreasonable changes to how they work and other staff being allowed to bully or harass them.

Read more about unfair dismissal cases.


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