MILS successfully defend RMI member from a substantial claim

Case Details:

MILS acted for an RMI member who contacted us via the legal helpline prior to dismissing an employee.

The member was a franchised dealer for Vauxhall Motors. When Vauxhall conducted one of their annual audits, it was found that a sum of £90,000 was owed to the manufacturer.

On the evidence, the Sales Manager had been seriously negligent in running the sales department which is why Vauxhall discovered so many anomalies when conducting the audit.

The member was extremely worried about the case because it not only exposed the company to financial loss but also there was a possibility that it could jeopardise the franchise relationship.

The employment team at MILS advised the member on how to dismiss the employee summarily and the member followed that advice. Unfortunately, as is the way these days, the employee still took the member to an Employment Tribunal.

The employee instructed a team of solicitors and a Barrister to represent him. The member made use of the discounted rates offered to RMI members and instructed the MILS employment team. The member also had a Barrister representing him in the 2 day Tribunal. The employee was claiming the sum of £70,000 in damages. After 2 days in the Tribunal the member won the case and the Tribunal unanimously ruled that the member had done nothing wrong and that it was a fair dismissal in all the circumstances.

The employee had spent £15,000 on legal fees and achieved nothing. The member had managed to defend the company from a substantial claim and paid under £2,000 in legal costs under the discounted RMI rates.