Engineer awarded £137,000 in unfair dismissal case

An engineer who said he was bullied and harassed after exposing unfair practices by his company has been awarded £137,000 compensation.

The engineer worked for a large construction company that was awarded an £18m contract with the Welsh government. The contract was awarded on the basis that the company’s profits would be 3.3% of the total cost of the job.

However, it had withheld information about the true cost of hiring in subcontractors, which meant it would be making an extra £768,000.

The engineer considered this to be unacceptable and raised concerns with several senior officers within the company including his line manager, the company compliance officer and the commercial director, who was also a board member.

He said they dismissed his concerns and he was met with a “mixture of bullying, denial and exclusion”.

He resigned and brought a claim of constructive dismissal. The company rejected his claim at first but then conceded a few days before the case was to be heard by the Employment Tribunal. He was awarded £137,000 compensation.

Speaking afterwards he said: “I was bullied and harassed after I made this disclosure. It left me feeling anxious and I had sleepless nights. I only confided in my wife. But something illegal was going on and I stood my ground.”

Please contact Paul Stevens 0208 290 7422 or email [email protected] if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of employment law.