Ben Wicken, former employee of Akita Systems, who recently won an employment tribunal in Croydon, south London. His resignation was reportedly due to a disagreement over whether his officials should attend the mediation meetings. Wicken’s case last autumn, tribunal judges found significant shortcomings in the conduct of Wicken’s case. They found that these complaints constituted constructive dismissal.
Wicken had intended to join in person to begin with, to meet Christophe Boudet, managing director of Akita Systems. Their objective was to come to an agreement. He then asked to have the mediation on Teams instead. He cited an increased personal obligation at home as his reason to not attend in person.
At a follow-up mediation meeting, an independent human resources consultant confronted Wicken. They criticized his plan to work on the gardening arrangements instead of showing up to the one-on-one meeting. Wicken’s choice to prioritize his family obligations over the mediation sessions led both sides to question his willingness or ability to resolve the complicated dispute.
Throughout mediation, Boudet said that she was frustrated by Wicken’s behavior. In particular, he noted that Wicken’s desire to telework was a sign of a lack of commitment to the mediation process. The tribunal was sympathetic to Boudet’s feelings. It asserted, “Boudet was pretty upset [] and expressed to Wicken that he felt Wicken was not treating the process with the necessary seriousness.”
Wicken would later admit that his decision to focus on his gardener arrangements first was a blunder. He acknowledged that he didn’t fully grasp what his vote meant at the time. Throughout the discussion, Wicken shared more of his feelings and emotions. He admitted that he was feeling “underappreciated” and he started to weep.
This, the external human resources professional later told Wicken, was that the directors at Akita Systems had lost faith and confidence in him. This collapse of confidence ultimately forced his resignation the next month. After leaving his post, Wicken had time to ponder the episodes he’d had with Boudet. He learned that he’d badly mishandled the situation.