Fans of Fawlty Towers will have been delighted to hear the recent news that the iconic comedy will soon be returning to our screens after John Cleese confirmed that he will be reviving the programme with his daughter, Camilla.
Viewers of the original 1970s programme will most likely recall the numerous occasions in which Basil Fawlty physically and verbally abuses his long-suffering workforce, primarily the hotel’s Spanish waiter, Manuel. As a workplace characterised by a physically and verbally abusive manager, as well as very few health and safety procedures, it’s a wonder Fawlty Towers had any staff at all!
What employment law and HR lessons should be learnt from Fawlty Towers?
As an employer, Basil Fawlty needs to acknowledge his duty of care to his employees, which includes protection from bullying and harassment at work.
If an employee is of the belief that they are being bullied (and in Manuel’s case, that is a fair belief), there are a couple of options open to explore:
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Raising a grievance
Employees have a right to raise grievances with their employer and have these properly considered in accordance with the employer’s grievance procedure. This can be a constructive step towards resolving a situation or asking for working arrangements to be resolved or altered. Mediation can sometimes be useful in these situations as often it is communication (or lack of it) that is the catalyst for many employee complaints.
Legal requirement – It is a legal requirement for an employer to have a written grievance procedure in place.
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Bringing a claim for constructive unfair dismissal
When an employee resigns because their employer has behaved unreasonably or because of a situation at work which they cannot tolerate any longer, they may have a claim in the Employment Tribunal for constructive unfair dismissal.
Legal requirement – Only employees can bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal and generally, you will need two years’ service with your employer.
What would Manuel have to prove to bring a constructive unfair dismissal claim?
In the case of Manuel, for him to bring a successful claim for constructive unfair dismissal (and we consider he would have good grounds to do so!), he would have to demonstrate three things:
- That Basil Fawlty and/or his co-owner of Fawlty Towers, Sybil, have breached his contract of employment;
- That the breach is very serious (‘repudiatory’) in nature (so serious that it goes to the heart of the employment relationship); and
- That Manuel resigned in response to that breach.
Breaches of contract can include bullying behaviour such as the use of offensive language (including profanities) and creating a hostile working environment.
Manuel would then have to accept the breach by resigning in response to it. The resignation would need to be done swiftly so he cannot be said to have waived (or forgiven) the breach by continuing to work and put up with the situation.
How we can help
If you would like any advice or information in relation to the subject discussed in this article, please contact a member of our expert Employment Law team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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