Estate agent awarded £21,411 after tribunal finds desk allocation amounted to constructive dismissal

A Watford employment tribunal has awarded a veteran estate agent £21,411 after finding that his employer’s handling of a desk reallocation and the manager’s conduct amounted to unfair constructive dismissal.

Nicholas Walker, 53, had been the branch manager at Robsons Estate Agents in Rickmansworth from 2017 and was moved to a nearby Chorleywood branch in 2022. In May 2023 he was asked to return to Rickmansworth because his replacement had resigned and was told he would sit at a "middle" desk rather than the traditional "back" desk that had historically been occupied by the branch manager.

The tribunal heard the back desk carried both practical and symbolic significance: it was where financial books and ledgers were kept and had long served as the manager’s station. By the time Walker returned, a more junior colleague, Matthew Gooder, was occupying the back desk. Walker told the employment tribunal he was "upset" and believed the allocation signalled he would be reduced to assistant manager or asked to share the manager role.

When Walker messaged Sales Director Daniel Young to say he would not return if required to sit in the middle desk, Young became angry, the tribunal heard. During a meeting the exchange escalated, with Young reportedly saying he could not believe "a f***ing 53-year-old man" was making a fuss about the desk. The tribunal found Young either said that phrase or referred to Walker as "a man of your age."

Walker threatened to resign and Young told him to go ahead, escorted him back to his desk to write his resignation and later advanced his leaving date and paid him in lieu of notice. Two days after the meeting Walker attempted to retract his resignation, but the tribunal said Young did not return his call.

The hearing heard Young had sought external HR advice after concluding, incorrectly, that Walker had found work with a competitor. The advice suggested expressing disappointment and considering whether there were genuine reasons for Walker's stance; the judge said that advice "had exacerbated the crisis."

Employment Judge Aku Reindorf concluded that the combination of poor communication about the logistics of the move, the reallocation of the traditional manager's desk and Young's conduct were "likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence" between Walker and the employer. The judge said it was logical for Walker to conclude that the seating arrangement meant he would be assistant manager or a joint manager, which would amount to a demotion compared with his prior role.

Walker brought claims for unfair constructive dismissal and age discrimination. The tribunal upheld the unfair dismissal claim and awarded £21,411 in compensation but dismissed the age-discrimination allegation.

The decision highlights that, in narrow circumstances, changes to workplace roles and symbolic signals of status can contribute to a finding of constructive dismissal if they form part of conduct that breaches the implied contractual term of mutual trust and confidence. The employer has not publicly commented on the tribunal’s ruling.