Former Connells Group chief executive David Livesey has won claims for unfair dismissal and age discrimination against the estate agency business and its parent, Skipton Group Holdings.
An employment tribunal found that Livesey (main picture, inset), who spent 33 years at Connells, was constructively dismissed after the company breached his employment contract and attempted to remove him “as quickly and as inexpensively as possible”.
The judgment also found that Livesey experienced direct age discrimination over his departure arrangements and the treatment of shares he acquired through a long-term executive incentive scheme.
No compensation has yet been determined. The £7 million previously associated with the proceedings was the reported value of Livesey’s claim and should not be treated as an award.
EXIT MEETING WAS AN ‘AMBUSH’
Livesey joined Connells in 1990 and became group chief executive in 2008. His employment ended in December 2023, when he was 64.
The tribunal found that Connells improperly placed him on garden leave, attempted to backdate his contractual notice period and removed him as a director without his knowledge or consent.
It described the September 2023 meeting at which Livesey was removed from the business as an “ambush” and concluded that Connells failed to follow an appropriate dismissal process.
Livesey had paid £420,000 for a 3.27% holding in Connells under an incentive scheme known as Condor 3. Following his departure, the shares were transferred to Skipton and he received a cheque for 46p.
The tribunal compared this with the treatment of former Connells Group chief executive for estate agency David Plumtree, who was approximately ten years younger. Plumtree had invested £280,000 for a smaller interest but was subsequently offered a £1.632 million “clean break” arrangement.
It concluded that refusing Livesey comparable treatment amounted to age discrimination and that the disparity had a “very considerable” financial effect.
BULLYING CLAIM REJECTED
However, the tribunal rejected Livesey’s allegation that Skipton chief executive Stuart Haire had conducted a campaign of bullying intended to undermine him or force him to retire.
The judges found insufficient evidence to support that assertion and said some of the alleged incidents had been exaggerated. The judgment nevertheless identified cultural tensions between Connells executives and Skipton’s leadership over the level of autonomy afforded to the agency group.
Skipton Group Holdings was found to have played an integral role in the discriminatory decisions affecting Livesey.
“My case is about principle.”
In a statement David Livesey said of the ruling: “This is a landmark case which has exposed the Skipton board’s flawed decision making and its dismissive attitude towards many gifted and capable Connells staff.
“My case is about principle – if concerned people don’t take a stand, good businesses are damaged. I also feel I have a duty to ensure that when loyal and talented staff are mistreated by their employers and discriminated against, those responsible are held to account.
“Skipton’s splashing out on TV advertising, with its slogan “founded on fairness”, is laughable! The tribunal’s finding of age discrimination against a 64-year-old will no doubt raise an eyebrow among Skipton’s 1.2 million savers of a similar average age!
A spokesperson for Skipton says: “We are pleased that all bullying claims were decisively rejected by the Tribunal.
“We take our workplace culture very seriously and have strict policies and procedures that govern behaviours at work. We are disappointed by the Tribunal’s full decision which we will review carefully.”
The full employment tribunal judgment was published on 27 July.
