Lawrence Graham fights claim for constructive dismissal

Lawrence Graham is facing a claim of constructive dismissal brought by a former assistant who resigned from the firm at the end of July.

The senior assistant, who joined the firm in 2002, is making three central allegations: constructive dismissal, a detriment and/or dismissal as protected against by the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998, and wrongful dismissal.

The dispute between the assistant and his former firm revolves around the firm's bonus scheme. It is believed that the assistant's argument is based on the principle established in Clark v Nomura International [2000], which says that discretionary bonuses must not be exercised irrationally or perversely.

The tax and private capital assistant was understood to be one of the top-paid assistants, earning £85,000 a year. He alleges that, having asserted a contractual entitlement, he was subjected to insulting and patronising comments and was eventually forced to resign, in breach of the PIDA.
Managing partner Penny Francis told The Lawyer the claim was being vigorously defended.