“Tribunal Delivers Crushing Defeat to Gerard Airey’s Claims Against Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP”
Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP celebrates a decisive victory following an Employment Tribunal judgment that utterly dismissed all claims brought by former head of employment and salaried partner, Gerard Airey. In a comprehensive ruling, the Tribunal rejected allegations of constructive unfair dismissal and health & safety detriment.
The Tribunal dismantled the claimant’s case, painting a picture of an “inconsistent witness” engaging in “reverse engineering” whose expectations of promotion were deemed “unrealistic”. His assertions of being demoted were dismissed as a “misconception of the facts”, and his financial promises were potentially “materially wrong and/or misleading”. The judgment noted the claimant’s focus was “largely on his own development, as opposed from the department that he ran” and found he appeared “set on a course that he had predetermined” regarding his resignation.
In stark contrast, the Tribunal validated the firm’s management and actions. Key decisions were found to be “sensible, essential and urgent commercial decision[s]” based on “sound commercial reasons”. Management communications were deemed “appropriate”, and partners giving evidence were consistently described as “honest”, “candid”, “straightforward”, and “credible” witnesses.
This outcome reinforces our values and long history of nurturing talent from within – a testament to which is that all our equity partners have risen through the firm’s ranks.
The Tribunal’s judgment is a clear vindication of Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP’s integrity and management practices. We welcome this definitive conclusion to the proceedings and will be pursuing Mr Airey for recovery of our costs.
Ronald Fletcher Baker were represented by Thomas Kibling of Matrix Chambers.
