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Come On You Irons 3:34 Wed Sep 8
Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58473802
________

Unbelievable judgement! She seems so entitled.

C&P below.

Alice Thompson wanted to work shorter hours to pick her daughter up from nursery, but ended up resigning.

The former estate agent spent tens of thousands of pounds pursuing the case against her former employer.

She was awarded £185,000 by an employment tribunal and this week told the BBC it was "a long, exhausting journey".

The tribunal ruled she had suffered indirect sex discrimination when the firm refused to consider her request.

Ms Thompson was a successful sales manager at a small independent estate agents in central London before she became pregnant in 2018.

"I'd put my heart and soul into an estate agency career for more than a decade," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

"That's no mean feat, it's quite a male dominated environment to work in. And I'd worked really hard to build relationships with clients."

When she wanted to return to work after maternity leave, she asked her employer if she could work shorter hours, a four day week, and leave at 5pm, rather than the normal end-of-day at 6pm, to pick her daughter up from nursery.

Her manager said they couldn't afford for her to work part time.

"I made a request for flexible working that wasn't seriously considered," Ms Thompson says.

"I proposed what would have worked for me. If that didn't work for the company, I would have been more than happy to hear a counter offer, what might work for them.

"If they needed me for the full hours, maybe eight 'til five instead of nine 'til six, that's something I could have worked around.

"But it was shut down, every avenue, not listened to, not considered. And I was left with no other option but to resign.

"How are mums meant to have careers and families? It's 2021 not 1971."

She said she was motivated to pursue the legal challenge in order to prompt change.

"I've got a daughter and I didn't want her to experience the same treatment in 20, 30 years' time, when she's in the workplace."

She said her effort was worth it to "stand up for what is right".

The tribunal found that the firm's failure to consider more flexible working put Ms Thompson at a disadvantage, and upheld her claim. The judge awarded her almost £185,000 for loss of earnings, loss of pension contributions, injury to feelings and interest.

"Losing a job unexpectedly is always a cause of unhappiness, shock, and sometimes anger, as shown by the way many employees react to redundancy, even when there has been proper consultation, and even when it is never suggested their performance was not good enough," the tribunal found.

"Here the claimant resented that flexible working appeared not to be considered properly - as in our finding it was not - and felt that this was an injustice because of her sex, which it was."

Flexible working: Your rights
A flexible working request could involve shorter hours, different start and finish times, a job share or doing your hours over fewer days (compressed hours)
All employees who have been with a firm for at least 26 weeks have the right to make a flexible working request
If you make a request, your employer must consider if fairly and make a decision within a maximum of three months

However several other claims Ms Thompson made regarding her treatment, including discrimination because of pregnancy and maternity, and harassment, were denied by the tribunal.

The tribunal found that the director of the Manors estate agency, Paul Sellar, had moved a staff trip to New York from November to August so Ms Thompson could fly in when pregnant, and there were checks to see when the latest was that she could fly.

When there, she did not join the other six for a boat trip.

"She did go shopping and then back to the hotel. In our finding she was upset that the others had had a good time drinking and were late back. She may have felt excluded, but it was not because of any action on the part of the respondent," the judges said.

On the return journey from New York, Mr Sellar commented that Ms Thompson did not seem to have enjoyed the trip, and she replied that she had felt isolated and became tearful.

A few days later he suggested she should not have gone to New York.

"We can understand that Mr Sellar may have found her response ungrateful when the group trip had cost him £25,000," the judges said.

'Missing out'
While she was determined to pursue the legal action she told Woman's Hour it was challenging.

"It's a very emotional process once you've had a child. You have a new identity as a mum, you're trying to figure things out on that field, and then you're going back to work as well," said Ms Thompson.

But she said workplaces that didn't support returning mothers risked "missing out on some fantastic women, who have been really successful, because they are short-sighted and don't want to be flexible".

She said many women had reached out to her in the wake of the ruling, many of whom had similar experiences but didn't have the mental or financial capacity to pursue a claim.

"It did come at a huge financial cost... and obviously there's the risk you might not get that money back if you lose, but there's a greater picture to trying to make some small change in the world for the better."

The BBC approached Manors for comment.

Vexed 1:36 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Moncurs Putting Iron 1:30 Fri Sep 10

You may be right there, secret tailor.

I dont think I've ever seen a scruffier bag of shit compost heap of a sub-human as Boris. Looks like an obese scarecrow.

Vexed 1:34 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Block 1:30 Fri Sep 10

Ag!

Block 1:30 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Saves money so they can spend it on gear, Vexed.

Moncurs Putting Iron 1:30 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Vexed,

I think it's to give the impression that they are not taking too much in commission from you and not doing that well.

They must have a secret online tailor that they give their measurements to so they get a bespoke bag of shit, because otherwise there is a risk that one of them, quite by accident, actually looks adequate in an off the peg suit.

Trump and Johnson have really taken this to the next level, making suits that cost thousands of pounds look like it is part of the Primark blind bandlardeshi 5 year old range.

Vexed 1:23 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

If estate agents are doing so well then why do every single one of them wear dogshit fucking suits?

Moncurs Putting Iron 1:21 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

martyboy 1:52 Thu Sep 9

Upon viewing the public facing facade, I would be more inclined to enter from the rear.

The picture do not give an indication of sturdiness nor the expanse of frontage which are of particular interest to me when deciding on this sort of thing.

RoyalDocksGK 11:35 Fri Sep 10
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

"Injury to feelings"

😂😂

bruuuno 8:46 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Don’t see the problem , we do indeed live in 2021 and like it or lump it the employers should have realised they needed to be a bit flexible. Especially after ten years of service. Although she could well have been a cunt which might have swayed their decision making - it’s hard to imagine them treating a valued employee like that

Warchild 2:46 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Err, in the original post.

martyboy 1:52 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Where is the link to this old bird? Ill let you Know if she is right or wrong after see what see looks like!!

Russ of the BML 1:48 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

This sounds like a simple case of the company not caring enough to be flexible. What she requested wasn't outrageous and, in my opinion, reasonable.

Instead of helping they just thought they would get rid and get in someone else that didn't have childcare issues. They got what they deserved.

Wils 12:39 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

RichyP

"I’ve got a mate who is an estate agent in Putney and is earning a packet, when every house you sell is upwards of £1.5m the commission soon adds up. Marylebone will be a similar story."

I am sure they make a lot of money. But if she is earning £60, she needs to earn another £100k.

I might be wrong with my assumptions here, but the estate agent's commission is 1%? She gets 12% of that commission for each house she sells. So that's £1,800 per £1.5M house she sells. She would need to sell 55 houses per year to earn that extra £100K.

Moncurs Putting Iron 11:54 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Seems to be the relationship had soured and if their HR had played the long game, set up sessions 'held a review of the options and, with much regret, rejected the request.

Not sure i would her being my champion of the little guy Nuts, she seems like a bit of a precious little madam.

Nutsin 1:14 Thu Sep 9
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

A big win for the little guy I’d say.

One of today’s big problems is corporate greed and how corporations treat their employees.

Too much focus is put onto the stock value and CEO’s are way overpaid even the bad ones.

Not a big union guy personally cos they can take things too far but Corporations have gone unchecked for too long…

Perhaps taking them to court is the answer after all.

Hermit Road 8:57 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

"At no point has she asked the company to change their business hours. When she returned from maternity leave she asked to work reduced hours, perfectly reasonable request. She the goes on to say if they required her to work her full hours they could look for a compromise such as her starting an hour earlier, again a perfectly reasonable suggestion to make."


On the face of it, that doesn't make sense. If she offers to start an hour earlier than the business opens, then she is asking them to alter their business hours as they would need to open an hour earlier in order to enable her to work.

RichyP 8:36 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Wils 8:16 Wed Sep 8

I’ve got a mate who is an estate agent in putney and is earning a packet, when every house you sell is upwards of £1.5m the commission soon adds up. Marylebone will be a similar stor.

RichyP 8:32 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

At no point has she asked the company to change their business hours. When she returned from maternity leave she asked to work reduced hours, perfectly reasonable request. She the goes on to say if they required her to work her full hours they could look for a compromise such as her starting an hour earlier, again a perfectly reasonable suggestion to make.

As for them claiming they wouldn’t be able to afford her working reduced hours, her base would be pro rated to reflect the reduced hours and I doubt finishing 1 hour earlier each day would have a huge impact on her sales/commission which would make up the bulk of her salary, and for every sale she makes the estate agent earns as well so unless she’s suddenly not selling anything by leaving early this argument is a load of shit

Wils 8:16 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

She was on £60k + 12% of sales commission. Sales target bonus was £15k. Not sure how much of that sales commision she got in the end but unlikely to be the £160K figure. The estate agent is in Marylebone though, so who knows.

Details of the case are here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60a375d3d3bf7f2888d19089/Mrs_A_Thompson__vs__Scancrown_Ltd_trading_as_Manors.pdf


"The respondent is a small firm of estate agents in Marylebone with one
office and around 10 employees, covering both sales and lettings. Many
customers live overseas and may communicate by email; Middle East
customers are more likely to be in London in the summer. There is some
walk-in trade; much depends on good local relationships and long-term
personal contacts.
9. The claimant was hired from Foxtons, a large corporate chain of estate
agents, and started work on 24 October 2016. Her first year’s salary as
sales manager was a flat rate of £120,000. On 17 October 2017 her
salary was £60,000 +12% of sales commission. In addition she was paid
a bonus if she achieved a sales target."

El Scorchio 8:08 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

Agree with that, that the business is entitled to set hours, but where's the problem in giving her a set of keys and having her work an hour before the rest of them get in? They just get an extra hour of business activity for basically no extra cost.

Seems win/win to me.

They did go about it awfully, though.

Aaaaanyway....

smartypants 8:06 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

So what time did she want to start work? 7.30am? Who the fuck wants a call from an estate agent at that time of day, not the most productive of hours I imagine.

Hermit Road 7:05 Wed Sep 8
Re: Female estate agent 'refused' flexible working wins a six figure payout

If you own a business, you are aiming to make a profit and you are responsible for the risk. You have a basic entitlement to determine the hours of opening that you think will maximise your profit and minimise your risk.

The idea that your hours of opening should be determined by when an employee wants to work is ridiculous and she wouldn't have won a penny if the company had gone about it on this basis. Their arrogance prevented them from going about it properly so they lost. Given what the owner said to another employee about her, they deserved to lose.

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