FORMER company director Guy Morris has been awarded £12,500 in compensation for unfair dismissal. An industrial tribunal upheld his complaint that he had to walk out on employer Dateline because of unreasonable threats and bullying from management.

‘From the evidence given at the hearing by witnesses from both sides, I believe that Mr Morris was placed in an impossible position and he had no choice but to resign,’ wrote adjudicator Peter Morgan in his decision.

Mr Morris resigned from the Guernsey branch of the dating firm in September last year and refused to serve the three months’ notice stipulated in his contract.

‘The dismissal was constructive dismissal which involved a fundamental breach of contract in that the trust and confidence of Mr Morris was undermined,’ wrote Mr Morgan.

Mr Morris has now been awarded three months’ pay, £12,500, in compensation.

‘I actually feel flat and sad,’ said Mr Morris on hearing the result.

‘I have the champagne in the fridge but I just don’t feel like drinking it. Dateline was a good and successful company which was torn apart by crass stupidity from on high.’

Mr Morris was not surprised that the Guernsey branch was to be closed at the end of April.

Dateline had denied that trust and confidence between the two sides had broken down to such an extent that Mr Morris had immediately to quit.

Mr Morris told the tribunal that he had worked for the firm since 1989 and set up the Guernsey branch in 1999. He had become a company director, was proud of its achievements and success and was extremely loyal.

Advocate Robert Shepherd, representing him, said his client was excluded from decision-making after a change of UK senior management at the beginning of 2003 . He was a director but had none of the functions of that status, while he was overloaded with technical responsibilities.

‘They treated him like dirt and treated him with contempt,’ said Advocate Shepherd.

His client was overburdened with work and was then sent aggressive communications and unreasonable ultimatums about completing it.

The company claimed that Mr Morris had been deliberately ignoring phone calls but an email from one of the UK staff, Stuart Knight, showed that it had not been trying to contact him.

Advocate Shepherd added that the UK management had also made three threats that the Guernsey office would be shut down and had given Mr Morris verbal and written warnings out of proportion with alleged offences.

‘They undermined the confidence between the employer and the employee and Mr Morris had no choice but to resign,’ said Advocate Shepherd.

Pauline Lancaster, managing director of the Guernsey branch, said that she got on well with Mr Morris.

She also said that there had been threats to close the Guernsey office and that she was asked to sack five staff.

Ms Lancaster said that Rachel Basger, the UK operations manager, threatened, through her, to sack Mr Morris.

Advocate Samantha Bailey said that the burden of proof lay with the applicant to show that he had been constructively dismissed. He had to show that the actions of the employer were enough to cause a breakdown of trust and confidence and, therefore, a breach of contract.

She said there was no breach of contract or loss of trust and confidence, that Mr Morris could be difficult to deal with and that Dateline management was just doing its job.

Dateline director Martin Bienvenu said that given the crisis in the company relating to the development of new software systems, the workload and emails were not out of the ordinary.

Advocate Bailey said that Dateline perceived Mr Morris to be unreliable and that tempers had flared.

But, under the circumstances of a highly-pressurised working environment, what resulted was not unreasonable, counsel submitted.

Mr Morgan said the evidence showed that there was not just one factor causing a loss of trust and confidence but a series.