Estate agent wins claim for unfair dismissal

AN ESTATE agency manager who lost her job when a solicitor complained her client missed out on a chance to bid for a property yesterday won her claim for unfair dismissal.

Lorna Challis, 49, branch manager of law firm Pattison & Sim's Glasgow West End estate agency branch, had denied she had acted improperly over the handling of the house sale.

Solicitor Gina Pacitti, of Pacitti Jones, had complained to David Howat, managing partner of Pattison & Sim, that her client had been advised there would be a closing date. However the property was sold without her client being given a chance to bid.

Following the complaint, Ms Challis walked out of a meeting with Mr Howat, telling him "Find yourself another branch manager."

Her resignation was accepted. But the tribunal concluded the words had been spoken in the heat of the moment and there was no resignation, instead she was dismissed.

Her compensation was limited to 2,990 for her unfair dismissal. She was also awarded a further 7,150 for a bonus payment and 364 in holiday pay, a total of 10,504.

Earlier the Glasgow tribunal heard Ms Challis, from Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, and Ms Pacitti had a "mutual dislike for one other". Ms Challis had previously worked for Ms Pacitti but the two didn't get on.

After Ms Challis joined Pattison & Sim, Ms Pacitti had expressed an interest in a property on the firm's books on a client's behalf and had been advised there would be a closing date. But an offer from another party was accepted before Ms Pacitti's client had an opportunity to make an offer.

Ms Challis said she told the seller there was another interested party, but the client was happy to accept an improved offer from the original prospective buyer.

She agreed she was aware Ms Pacitti had been in touch daily asking if there was a closing date and had called shortly before the offer was received. "There is no guarantee there will be a closing date. I believe Gina ran the risk and lost," said Ms Challis.

She accepted Ms Pacitti was told she would be advised of the closing date.

She insisted there was no personal reason for her actions. "Yes I believe there are other lawyers that I prefer to deal with in my working life. I would agree that we would prefer not to deal with each other if possible."

In its written judgment, the tribunal said there was substance in Pattison & Sim's contention that Ms Challis had not acted in the best interests of its client.

It further considered she had not acted appropriately towards Pacitti Jones in adhering to Law Society guidelines.

It stated: "The professional reputation of a solicitor's practice requires to be jealously guarded. In this case, the respondents were entitled to come to the view that the misconduct by the claimant undermined that reputation.

"Dealings with a solicitor must be based on trust, and actings in a way which erode or diminish that trust have to be taken seriously."

The tribunal concluded she would therefore have been fairly dismissed in any case and limited her award to three weeks' pay, the time it would have taken for the correct procedure to have been followed, and a 10 per cent uplift for Pattison & Sim's failure to follow the statutory procedure.