Senior estate agent Nicholas Walker has won a payout after a tribunal ruled that his reassignment to a less prestigious desk amounted to constructive dismissal.
The case has sparked a broader discussion about workplace status and the symbolic importance of office seating arrangements.
Walker (main picture), 53, was a branch manager at Robsons, an estate agency in Hertfordshire, from 2017.
In 2022, he was transferred from the Rickmansworth office to the Chorleywood branch. However, in 2023, following his replacement’s resignation, he was asked to return to Rickmansworth. Upon his return, Walker expected to resume his former role, but instead found that his position had shifted.
SHARE DUTIES
Daniel Young, the agency’s sales director, decided that Walker would share the branch manager duties with a junior colleague, a move that was not discussed with Walker.
More strikingly, Walker was assigned the “middle desk” rather than the “back desk,” which held both practical and symbolic significance as it was traditionally reserved for the branch manager and housed the books and ledgers.
Walker expressed his discontent, telling Young he would not return to sit at the middle desk, which he believed signalled a demotion to assistant manager status.
The situation escalated during a heated meeting where Young, seemingly dismissive of Walker’s concerns, allegedly remarked: “I can’t believe a man of your age is making a fuss about a desk.”
When Walker threatened to resign, Young responded: “Go on then.”
JUSTIFIED
The employment tribunal, led by Judge Akua Reindorf, ruled that Walker was justified in interpreting the desk reassignment as a demotion.
The judge concluded that such an arrangement could “logically” damage trust and confidence between Walker and his employer.
Judge Reindorf said: “Either becoming assistant manager or becoming joint manager with Mr Gooder would have amounted to a demotion by comparison to the role he was performing at Chorleywood and that which he had performed at Rickmansworth previously, since at both offices he had been the sole manager in charge of the branch.”
As a result, Walker successfully sued for unfair constructive dismissal. His compensation will be determined at a later date.
