Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Solicitor

A Solicitor’s Firm

Representatives

The claimant represented herself

The respondent represented himself

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977

CA-00014717-001

01/10/2017

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00014717-002

01/10/2017

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00014717-003

01/10/2017

In her complaint form to the WRC which was received on the     1st.Oct. 2017 the claimant complained that the respondent was in breach of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act for failing to furnish her with written terms and conditions of employment , in breach of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 for failing to pay her for 4 weeks sick leave in June 2017 and in breach of the Unfair Dismissals Acts 2017 for constructively dismissing her.The claimant submitted as follow in her complaint form:

I started with the respondent Solicitors in August 2014 on Job bridge as a solicitor for a period of 9 months. In May 2015 I was offered a job as a solicitor in the firm and Mr.X was going to make an application for a Job Plus Grant for me so he would get a grant for me for a period of two years. I was not given a written contract of employment nor details of written grievance/disciplinary procedures in place. 5th October 2015 I spoke to Mr. Y , the receptionist, (Mr.X.’s son) in relation to him not putting calls from client through to me and telling clients that I was busy when I didn't have a client in with me at the time and he became aggressive once again and he shouted at me "Ah would you ever f… off" I asked him to leave my office and he continued to shout and be aggressive I asked him to leave my office on three occasions before he left. I spoke to Mr.X .about this matter and he said that he would deal with him and this would never happen again and he said that he would be giving the receptionist a written warning and I asked him to give me a copy of the warning but he never gave me a copy of the warning.Mr. X said that he would tell Mr. Y that he has to put all calls from clients on files I was dealing with through to me and If I was out of the office Mr.Y.would email me with the client's details.

On the 4th November 2015 I was told by Ms.M.G. that I was doing the district court today and she gave me one file and a note of the cases that were before the district court that day.

The solicitor for the other side said that I would be in difficulty in relation to the adjournment as the case was listed for hearing. I was not given the file and never worked on the file and client nor his witnesses was in court as they were informed the case was adjourned the day before by Mr. X.. The Judge refused the adjournment and was extremely annoyed at my request for an adjournment as the case was listed for hearing and would be going on. I tried to contact Mr.X on his mobile but there was no reply. I felt humiliated in front of the court and other colleagues who came up to me and they said that I should not have been in that position by Mr.X.

5th November 2015 -to- 12th November I had to take certified sick leave due to the on going

difficulties at work. 23rd November 2015 I e-mailed Mr. Y. in relation to the ongoing difficulties in relation to calls not being put through to me and I received unacceptable e-mails from Mr. Y. I emailed Mr.X. in relation to Mr. Y.'s ongoing aggressive behaviour towards me and requested him to deal with the situation as soon as possible.

5th January 2016 I e-mailed Mr. Y. in relation to him sending an e-mail to M.D W. & Co. Solicitors rather than to me causing a delay in me getting back to the client.

August 2016 I received an e-mail from the Law Society confirming that I was named as a co-signatory

to the client account. I was never asked if I was willing to be a co-signatory and my name was put forward without my consent. I e-mailed the Law Society to confirm that I was not agreeable to act as co-signatory to the client account.

14th September 2016 I received an e-mail from the Law Society acknowledging receipt of my email

confirming that I was not agreeable to act as co-signatory to the client account. Mr.X never mentioned it to me but Ms.A F the office manager said that he was raging about me not agreeing to act as co-signatory. October 2016 Mr. Y was again aggressive to me roaring and shouting at me and he said that "I had the personality of a damp sponge" the following day I spoke to Mr.X about same and no action was taken. 28th October 2016 I gave a memo to Ms.A.F. Office Manager in relation to the signing of post as Mr.C.H. solicitor was signing his post but when I started to sign my own post the Office Manager told me that Mr.X. was the only person who would sign the post but Mr.C.H. continued to sign his post but as soon as I signed my own post I was stopped immediately and the rule was not been applied to all employees in a fair manner.

1st December 2016Mr. Y was once again aggressive he was roaring and shouting at me when I walked away he jumped up from his seat and came around his desk charging at me with his fists closed all pumped up sticking out his chest and squaring up to me and I told him to stop I didn't want him to follow me up the stairs as he was scaring me. I went up the stairs to get my bag and I waited a while in the hope that he would leave but he was still there and I wanted to get out but I had to go down pass the reception to get out. I rang my mum an asked her to stay on the line until I got to my car because Mr. Y. was being aggressive once again. He was standing at the side of his desk and he said something to me as I was leaving. I sent a text to the office manager to report the incident that night. 2nd December 2016 Reported the incident to the office Manager and spoke to Mr.X. also he spoke to me as Mr. Y .’s defence solicitor rather than my employer he didn't ask me what happened just to prepare a memo and was to hand it to the office manager. I told Mr. X. that if he was not going to take any action I would be left with no option but to report the incident to the Gardai. After that Mr.X would only communicate with me through the office

manager ie post or files I was working on Mr.X would take calls rather than put calls through to me.

9th December 2016 I asked the office manager about the outcome of the investigation. She spoke to Mr.X and he then stormed up the stairs and into my office and he was shouting at me saying that I was putting him under a lot of pressure about making a decision in relation to the incident. He spoke to me in a manner which I felt was unacceptable given what occurred on the 1st of December and I was quite upset by this and I felt that it was unfair. 13th December 2016 A decision was made oral warning had been give to Mr. Y . I spoke to the office manager and I said that I was not happy with the decision but what was the point in saying anything further about the matter as I felt that the only one being punished here is me and the mention of a disciplinary procedure - what disciplinary procedure? 8th June 2017 Mr. Y told J.M. to "F… off" and he kicked out under his desk. J.M. reported the incident to the office manager and she told Mr.Y that she could not take anymore and put her hands to her head and Mr. Y. shouted at her and I was photocopying at the time and I said to Mr. Y. can you not just leave it and he shouted at me and he continued to shout at J.M..

J.M. was very upset over the incident and she came up to my room she was crying and she had her hand on her side and I took her down to the office manager office. The office manager left her office to speak with Mr.X but didn't come back to the office so J.M. said she wanted to go home it was about 5.20 so I went back to my office to get my bag and I would walk her down to her car and told her to ring her mum before she went home as I was worried about her.

9th June 2017 Mr. Y did not come into work. J.M. was off 6 days as her doctor put her off work on certified sick leave for two weeks. I asked the office manager for my wages that morning as we were not paid on Thursday. I asked again after 4pm for my wages as I was due to be paid two weeks wages as I was off the following week she was quite abrupt with me. 19th June 2017 I returned to work after a week's holiday a memo re post was left on my desk this appeared to be the only action that was going to happen in relation to the incident that occurred on the 8th June 2017 20th June 2017 I spoke to Mr.X about the incident that occurred on the 8th of June it was clear that no action was going to be taken save for a memo re post. Mr.X said that Mr. Y .had handed in his notice as it was not working out with him.

11th July 2017 I received an e-mail in relation an appointment from Mr. Y. I e-mailed him once again in relation to the making of appointments and he responded and I forwarded his response to the office manager at 11.07am and then at 1.58pm I was handed a two page memo in relation post and "stating the receptionist should control the appointments per day to avoid double bookings etc in complete disregard as what I had previously agreed withMr.X . and no further e-mails would be sent. I spoke to Mr.Y. in relation -to the memo I received in response to my e-mail to the office manager earlier this morning. I told Mr.X that his failure to deal with Mr.Y’s behaviour was affecting my health. He said that was under a lot of pressure from his family about Mr. Y ..

13th July 2017 Once again Mr. X. was roaring and shouting at me when I asked for a letter that came in the post with my reference on it he said the letter was not for me and he put a post it with Mr. X reference hand written on it I showed him by reference on the letter but he continued to shout at me and I told him we could speak to the office manager about the matter. The office manager was on the phone so I waited outside her office in the hallway. She came out of her office and she shouted at me and said what is it now and I asked her can we go into her office and I explained to her what happened but Mr. Y. was roaring and shouting I asked him to stop shouting but he said that this is way he talked he was very aggressive and called me a liar and a ridiculous person and he kept saying this over and over and he went out to the hall and continued to shout that I was a liar and a ridiculous person I became upset and told the office manager that I was going home as I could take anymore of his behaviour. I was extremely upset when I returned home and I asked my mum to call into the office to collect my wages as it was payday and my mum said that a sick cert would be sent in. My doctor put me off work for four weeks because of the incident. 17th July 2017 I received a letter from Mr.X.. I e-mailed Mr.X requesting my wages to be sent out to me by cheque I received no reply. No one contacted me during the four week period to ask how I was or what action Mr.X was going to take in relation to Mr.Y's behaviour. 14th July 2017 I returned to work I put my key in the door but my key did not open the door and I then noticed the locks were changed. I had to stand out on the main street until the door was opened later Mr.Y opened the door and I said I see you changed the locks he said nothing to me he just smirked at me and I went up to my office and all the files were removed from my office and the files that were in the filing cabinet in my office and the trolley and files were removed. No work was left on my desk. I sat in my office for 45-50 minutes and no one came into my office until M came in and I asked her ask Mr. X to come up to me when he was free. He came up later and said you wanted to see me and I asked him what he was going to do about Mr.Y.’s behaviour and it was clear from the conversation nothing was going to done and I asked him why did he no treply to my e-mail about my pay he said the revenue had closed his account again and I spoke to him about changing the locks and removing all the files I was working on from my office.I was left with no other option due to his behaviour and his failure to deal with his son's behaviour but give him my notice

.In a later submission of the 8th.Nov.2017 , the claimant submitted :

You will note that from my statement as lodged with my complaint(s) the behavior

complained of happened numerous times and over a prolonged period of time which

undermined my right to dignity at work and my employer's failure to adequately

deal with my complaints.

When I returned to my work following my certifed sickleave when I put my key in the door it would not open and I noticed that the lock was changed and I had to stand out on the Main Street , I felt humiliated with members of staff from other offices , business and cars passing by looking at me trying to get into the office. I stood outside the door until Mr. Y.opened the door and I said to

him I see the locks were changed and he said nothing to me he just smirked at me and I went up to my office. When I went into my office   all the files that I had been working on had been removed from office. I sat in my office for about 45-50 minutes before Ms.M.G. came into my room and I asked her was Mr.X free and she said she would send him up.

When Mr.X came into my room I had asked him why he did not get in contact with me with regards the incident that occurred on the 14th of July and

what he intended to due about his son’s continuing behaviour towards me and it was clear from that conversation that he had no intention of doing anything about his behaviour and he once again referred to the pressure he was being put under byhis family over the incident. I also asked why were the lock changed on the door he said that the key broke in the lock and that is why the locks were changed and I said if that was the case why did he not call me and let me know that the locks were changed. I also asked why was all the files I was working on removed from my office he said that I was off for four weeks and he had to keep an eye on the files.

I said that this had never happened before when I was off work and what did he expect me to do when I returned from sick leave as he knew I was returning to work on the 14m of August, as all my work and files were removed from my office. He said that my sick cert referred to work related stress and he did not want to put me under pressure, completely disregarding the incident that occurred on the 14th of July 2017 with Mr.Y and he was trying to turn the situation round on me and that I was simply stressed rather than anything to do with his son’s behaviour. I started work when I was sixteen years of age and I have only ever missed one day off work due to sickness until I commenced work with the respondent Solicitors. I also asked Mr. X why he did not pay me whilst I was on sick leave as I had previously been paid when I was off on sick leave and all other members of staff were paid whilst on sick leave I had to take on extra work when other members of staff were on sick leave. I asked him about another member of staff Ms. M. G. who was off since November 2016 until June 20 17 and she received her fulI pay and I wasn't being paid. Mr.X . said that he would pay me my sick leave but he did not have the money as the Revenue Commissioners had frozen his office account again.

I told Mr.X . that the way I have been treated was terrible and that itwas clear from my conversation with him that he had no intention in dealing with his son’s behaviour towards me and I felt victimised for making a complaint against Mr.X and Mr. Y . in that I would be dealing with files and then post would come into the office with my reference or name on it and sales advice notes and the would be given to other members of staff to deal with rather than me. I told him that was left with no option but to give him my notice and I gave him the option that I would work two weeks notice or alternatively he could pay me two weeks lieu of notice. He said that he would pay me two weeks lieu of notice and my sick pay of four weeks and holiday pay. I asked for that in writing.

He went down stairs and returned later with a letter dated the 14ft of August 2017 (see attached). He did not mention mediation or that he had been in contact with a HR company and to say that I did not afford him the opportunity to explain that he was prepared to deal with all my grievances by Mediation is ridiculous as he had four weeks to communicate how he was going to deal with my grievances whilst I was on sick leave but he did not and he would have had a further two weeks if he allowed me to work my two weeks notice.

I had to ring the office 24th of August as I still didn’t receive my money I spoke to Mr.Y and asked to speak to Ms.A.F. the office Manager he said she was out of the office but she would be back at 11.30am. I rang the office at 11.30am but phone rang out on a number of occasions and I then rang on my mother's phone and the phone was answered immediately and I was told by Mr. Y.that Ms.A.F. was busy and she would return my call. My call was not returned so I went into the office and asked for an appointment with Mr.X.onMonday the 28th of August.

I attended the office on Monday the 28th of August I was sitting in the waiting area and Ms.A.F. handed me a sealed envelope and she said that I should read it before I went into Mr.X’s office. I didn't open the envelope and I was called in about ten minutes later. I asked for my P45 and my money and Mr.X said that I would not get my P45 or money until I sign a letter of

disclaimer that I would not be making a claim against his office . I refused to sign this form and he said that I would get nothing from him until I signed this form so I Ieft the office.

The following day I received my P45 in the post by letter dated the 28th of August 2017.I then received a letter by registered post dated the 30th of August 2017 with my money but he did not pay my sick pay as was agreed on the 14th of August.   If Mr..X felt that he fair dealt with my complaints fairly, fully and without bias why did he feel the need to threaten not to pay me my statutory entitlement or furnish me P45 until I signed his disclaimer”.

In her direct evidence the claimant elaborated upon her experience of working for the respondent and detailed the specific allegations of bullying behaviour in the work place along with allegations of being undermined by the respondent and his son who worked as receptionist for the firm. While much of her evidence focused on the exchanges with Mr.X. following her resignation , this was post the dismissal.

She contended that the working environment was so intolerable that she had no option but to resign and asserted that this constituted constructive dismissal.She asserted that she had no contract of employment – she had been locked out of the office on her return from sick leave   and there were no procedures through which she could resolve her grievances. She set out her interactions with Mr.Y. and asserted that in the context of him having previously being served with a written warning in October 2015 , she had no confidence that he would be appropriately dealt with when Mr.X’s response to the1st.Dec. 2016 incident was to issue him with an oral warning.She referred to the number of occasions on which Mr.Y engaged in aggressive and unacceptable behaviour , the occasions on which he did not refer clients through to her , the failure by Mr.X to deal with same, the occasions upon which she felt undermined by the respondent’s behaviour e.g. the Court adjournment request without being properly briefed by Mr.X. and the decision by Mr.X. to list her as a co-signatory on a client’s account without her knowledge or consent.She highlighted the failure of the respondent to contact her over a 4 weeks period when she was out sick on work related stress.She stated that she had nowhere to turn to and the Office Manager Ms.A F did not want to fall out with the respondent’s family.She stated that she was unwilling to sign the disclaimer sought by Mr.X and that she was not prepared to give the notice of resignation sought by the respondent.Records of the exchanges between the parties post the dismissal were presented in evidence .She contended that she was not required to sign a disclaimer to avail of her statutory entitlement .She submitted that the respondent had not at any stage suggested or offered mediation services notwithstanding Mr.X.’s indication to the contrary in his letter of the 23rd.Nov.2017 to the WRC.

It was put to her under cross examination that the respondent never at any stage said he wanted the claimant to leave his employment and she responded that he may not have said it but his actions said otherwise. Mr.X referred to his letter of the 30.08.17 in which he stated “I was prepared to work with you Mediation Services had you afforded me the opportunity to explain this to you”.The claimant responded that Mr.X’s transcript of the meeting of the 28.08.17 confirmed that Mr.X. had failed to deal with her grievances .She stated she was unaware that he was taping the meeting.It was put to the claimant that she was not locked out of the office and that the locks simply required changing and that the respondent had assured the claimant that he was very happy with her work and very disappointed when she resigned.It was put the claimant that for the first 1.5 years there was no difficulty at work ; that no meetings had taken place during that time .It was suggested that the emails from the claimant at the end of Nov. 2015 represented the first difficulty and the claimant responded that Mr.Y. had told her to F…. off on the 5th.Oct. 2015.When asked if she had made her dissatisfaction known to Mr.Y, the claimant replied that she had recorded it in emails on the advice of Mr.X. who recommended emails be used because of Mr. Y’s aggressive behaviour.The respondent indicated that he had listed the claimant as a co signatory on an account because he wanted her more involved in the practise – she replied you did not obtain my consent and you already had a judgement against you.The respondent replied –“ I apologise – I should have asked you”.

The claimant spoke of the absence of disciplinary procedures and stated that when she complained about Mr. Y’s behaviour on the 1st.Dec., the respondent spoke as if he was Mr. Y.’s defense lawyer.She said “ I knew I was in a no win situation “ and was completely isolated.She reiterated there was no grievance or disciplinary procedure in place.It was put to the claimant that she should have remained in her office to avoid altercations with Mr.Y. and that she did not tell Mr.X. she was unhappy.The claimant replied that her documentary evidence records what happened at the time in terms of her exchanges with Mr.X.

Th respondent replied that he suggested a third party Mr.M.B. to deal with the problem but he did not get an opportunity to tell the claimant.The respondent asserted that he stated to the claimant please do not resign but that she was not going to listen to anything he said.He asserted that there was nothing sinister about the locks and that he was trying to take stress off her when she was off on work related stress.The claimant disputed this version of the exchanges and asserted that she asked the respondent what he was going to do about Mr. Y.

The claimant’s mother gave evidence of her attendance at the office on the 13th.July to collect the claimant’s wages – she advised the office manager Ms.A.F of how upset the claimant was ; she stated   that the manager replied that “ this was going on for 2 years and “its not about me”.

She confirmed she accompanied her daughter to the final meeting with the respondent on the 28th.Aug. 2017 ; she stated that the claimant was looking for her P60 and her P45 but Mr.X. refused to give it to her and the claimant refused to sign his draft document which included a waiver.

It was suggested to her under cross examination that she was only getting the claimant’s version of events and had not come in to the office to talk to someone.She stated that Mr.X raised his voice at the meeting.She was asked if she recalled Mr.X. saying that the claimant was a good solicitor.She was asked if the claimant told her on the 14th.August that she had resigned and she replied that the claimant did not tell her she resigned – the claimant said to her “ I cannot take it anymore”.

The claimant’s sister   in law   stated that the office manager had said that the conflict was going on for 2 years and she questioned why nothing was done about it.

In a post hearing submission , the claimant categorically denied that she had sought the dismissal of Mr.Y.She submitted that the respondent Mr.X had said to her that he could not sack Mr.Y. and that “ if it was anyone else they would have been gone” – he advised her that he was under a lot of pressure from his family about Mr.Y. The claimant offered extensive observations and took issue with the accuracy and context of the numerous memos of MsA.F. which were submitted in evidence by Mr.X.

In a replying submission to the respondents submissions of August 2018 , the claimant set out a comprehensive chronology of her exchanges with the Law Society and other parties about setting up a new business and explaining the context of the documents submitted by the respondent- she submitted that the documents clearly contradicted the respondent’s assertions that the claimant planned to leave the respondent company as far back as October 2016..She asserted that the respondent had produced no evidence to support his assertion that the claimant had been in contact with clients of the respondent

The respondent refuted that the claimant was constructively dismissed and asserted that he held the claimant in high esteem and that she was an excellent solicitor.

The respondent did not make a written submission.He relied to a significant extent on a booklet of papers which contained numerous memos from the Office Manager Ms.AF.The Office Manager attended the WRC hearings but did not give evidence and the claimant took issue with not being given an opportunity to cross examine her.

In his direct evidence , the respondent stated that the claimant had no issue during the first year of her employment but was very upset over being told F… Off by Mr.Y He asserted that the claimant wanted all of her files in her office – that they were personal to her and she got annoyed if anyone else dealt with her case.He stated that he had numerous conversations with the claimant about office management and administration .He submitted that she was unhappy with Mr.Y – he suggested they were personal differences between the 2 of them.He confirmed there were ongoing difficulties with Mr.Y – sending unacceptable emails and he advised the claimant not to go to the front desk.He said that he had stated that he wanted all post to go through him and that the claimant was very agitated and aggrieved and very volatile.

He asserted in relation to the Dec.2016 incident that the claimant had threatened to involve the Gardai as she thought Mr .Y. had followed her but that the facts prove that was not the case.He asserted that he asked the claimant not to get involved with the front desk and he stood over that .He said he took statements about the incident and issued a finding .He indicated that he told the claimant that Mr. Ywas resigning.He said I spoke to the claimant about this and she was only going to be satisfied if the claimant was dismissed.He went on to state “ I think there was a pair of them in it”.The respondent asserted that the claimant did not complain about his decision to issue Mr.Y with a verbal warning.

In his evidence the respondent said that he told the claimant he would be most disappointed if she left the employment.

He stated that when the claimant went off on work related stress , he left it to her to come back to him.When she returned on the 14th.August he was very pleased and did not expect her to be upset – he said she was not going to allow me to explain anything to her and that she said I am resigning – she accused him of taking work away from her and locking her out of the office.He asserted that if she had other issues he would have explained that he would have an investigation carried out by Mr.MB.

The claimant responded that he had a period of 2 weeks to tell her about MrM.B and made no reference to the involvement of an external party at any time while she was out sick.

Under cross examination, the respondent accepted that he did not furnish the claimant with written terms and conditions of employment .He was questioned about the Oct. 2015 incident where the claimant was told to F… Off by Mr.Y and was asked if he was now denying saying that he would be given a written warning.It was put to the respondent that there were no procedures in place , no investigation had been carried out and no outcome.The respondent replied “ I   never said I would give him written warning – I decided to adopt a procedure”.The claimant submitted that what was agreed by him with her that Mr.Y would be given a written warning.The respondent acknowledged that the claimant was upset about not being properly briefed on the incident where he had asked her to seek an adjournment on the 4th.Nov. 2015.

When asked if he recalled the Dec. 2016 incident with Mr.Y , the respondent replied I investigated it and went through process- I gave you my decision on my instructions “ – the claimant responded “There were no procedures – all I got was a decision.”

The respondent was unable to identify dates and times of when he asked the claimant to stay away from the front desk and the claimant asserted she was never asked to do that.He clarified that Mr.Y had no previous experience of working in a legal firm and his former experience was as a Hotel Receptionist.The respondent stated that he discussed revised admin procedures with Ms.A F before issuing his memo of the 11th.July 2017.The respondent was unable to remember what investigation he carried out into the incident that took place on the 13th.July 2017.He stated that he was sorry to hear the claimant was upset.It was put to the respondent that he was unwilling to acknowledge what happened on the 13th.July and he replied he was in Sligo - the Manager told him .The respondent denied receiving a memo from Ms.A F about the incident on the 14th.July .It was put to him that he was refusing to acknowledge what happened and he just glossed over the matter of Mr.Y calling the claimant a liar.He confirmed that he did not ask the claimant for her side of the story.

The respondent clarified that the decision to cease the payment of sick pay was taken in April 2017 – he confirmed nobody was notified in writing of the decision to cease sick pay.The respondent confirmed that he did nt tell the claimant that the locks had been changed – he said he did not think he needed to.He asserted that the claimant did not give him an opportunity to tell her about recruiting an external HR consultant.The respondent confirmed he recorded the meeting of the 24th.Auugust “ because of the tone and content”.It was put to him that he had a further 2 weeks to advise the claimant about Mr.MB but had not done so and the claimant asserted that when she resigned he advised “ its better for you to go immediately”.It was put to the respondent that he was unwilling to give the claimant her P45 unless she signed a disclaimer.

In response to the claimant’s post hearing submission , the respondent in correspondence dated the 7.08.18 reiterated his contention that the claimant wanted Mr.Y dismissed .He further asserted that the claimant had made her mind up to leave the company , that it was her intention to set up a practise on her own and this was supported by her failure to submit documentation with the Law Society , contacts she made with a number of the respondent’s clients and her negative comments about the respondents practise.In a further submission on the 14th.August , the respondent submitted copies of documentation found in the claimant’s drawer which he contended demonstrated that the claimant intended to start up her own practise from as far back as Oct.2016.

The respondent made a further submission in September 2018 ,disputing the complaint of constructive dismissal, setting out his defense to the complaint under the Payment of Wages Act , 1991 and clarifying the memos of Ms.A F “ who did not wish to be cross examined as she had nothing further to say on the matter”.