A carpenter unhappy at being offered a lower salaried job during a redundancy process has lost two unfair dismissal claims against Bam Construction & Ventures UK.<\/p>\n
Nikolay Avramov joined Bam in 2009 as a carpenter and moved into its aftercare team in 2014, carrying out carpentry and repair work. Following the Covid pandemic, the contractor reviewed staffing levels and decided to downsize the aftercare team, placing roles at risk of redundancy.<\/p>\n
At a human resources meeting, Avramov was offered an alternative role as a fabric engineer in Bam\u2019s facilities management division. The position carried a salary of \u00a332,000, compared with his previous earnings of \u00a349,000 plus overtime.<\/p>\n
The tribunal heard the role was considered a suitable alternative under statutory redundancy requirements.<\/p>\n
Avramov received written confirmation of the offer by email on 13 August 2020 and was asked to confirm acceptance by the end of the day. He was also offered a statutory trial period. He replied that he was not prepared to take a pay cut and described the offer as \u201cinsulting\u201d.<\/p>\n
A human resources representative interpreted the response as a rejection of the alternative role and an acceptance of redundancy. Bam issued a redundancy confirmation letter on 14 August 2020.<\/p>\n
Three days later, Avramov emailed to accept the fabric engineer role. By mutual agreement, the termination was rescinded and he began the new position on 1 September 2020 under a trial arrangement.<\/p>\n
In a witness statement, Avramov said he had accepted the job \u201cunder protest\u201d and maintained it was not a suitable alternative. He raised concerns about the loss of his previous role, working practices, the conduct of colleagues and the pay and conditions attached to the new position.<\/p>\n
Bam held several grievance meetings to address the complaints. The tribunal heard that the allegations were not upheld, although the company accepted that management style and communication could be improved.<\/p>\n
On 17 December 2020, Avramov lodged his first claim for ordinary unfair dismissal. In February 2021, he sent what the tribunal described as \u201cangry and threatening emails\u201d, stating that his job had been stolen and referring to the situation as \u201ca joke and corruption\u201d.<\/p>\n
On 4 June 2021, Bam terminated his employment with immediate effect after he refused to accept the new contract following the end of the trial period. Avramov filed a second unfair dismissal claim on 14 October 2021, alleging that his dismissal was linked to protected disclosures about health and safety.<\/p>\n
He claimed he had been asked to undertake gas and electrical work for which he was not qualified. The tribunal accepted that these concerns amounted to protected disclosures. However, it found they were not the reason for his dismissal and that he had not been placed in \u201cserious or imminent danger\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a judgment published last week, employment judge Sarah Matthews dismissed both claims.<\/p>\n
She ruled that the principal reason for the final dismissal was Avramov\u2019s refusal to accept the fabric engineer contract. Matthews said she was satisfied that he had been adequately warned and consulted, and that Bam had exhausted attempts to find alternative work before terminating his employment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A carpenter unhappy at being offered a lower salaried job during a redundancy process has lost two unfair dismissal claims against Bam Construction & Ventures UK. Nikolay Avramov joined Bam in 2009 as a carpenter and moved into its aftercare team in 2014, carrying out carpentry and repair work. Following the Covid pandemic, the contractor …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158858,"featured_media":501371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[578],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal"],"yoast_head":"\n