IGNORING a colleague when they say hello breaks employment law, a tribunal has ruled.
The judgment came in the case of a recruitment manager, who has won an unfair dismissal claim after her new boss deliberately ignored her.
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Nadine Hanson said hello to Andrew Gilchrist three times when she arrived for work but he purposely did not respond on any occasion, the tribunal heard.
And Judge Sarah Davies said his behaviour undermined trust.
She added: “While it might not, by itself, be a fundamental breach of contract, it was capable of contributing to such a breach.”
Mr Gilchrist, 62, had just taken over as MD of Interaction Recruitment, which has 30 offices.
After a brief meeting, he was said to have formed a poor opinion of northern operations manager Ms Hanson, with the firm 20 years.
And when he turned up at the Scunthorpe office a few days later, he ignored her greetings because he thought she was late.
He then pushed away her phone when she tried to show him she had a medical appointment and “suggested she leave” the company.
Within an hour, he sent an email to her two staff offering them pay rises without telling her.
The following month, Ms Hanson resigned.
Now, the tribunal in Leeds has concluded her dismissal was unfair.
Compensation will be decided at a later hearing.
