Can a case be brought if an employee feels they are being treated to favourably?

sexmag

Hypothetical of course

But say an employee has been receiving super favorable treatment from an employer to such an extent their coworkers start to resent them and this affects their ability to do their job and lowers their standing with their coworkers and the company.

Under what laws if any can a person bring a case of discrimination based on favorable treatment?

Batgurl

No. Look up the meaning of discrimination; you are not being discriminated against.

If your colleagues hate you because they are being discriminated against, THEY can take a case. But not you.

sexmag

Batgurl wrote: »

No. Look up the meaning of discrimination; you are not being discriminated against.

If your colleagues hate you because they are being discriminated against, THEY can take a case. But not you.

That I am aware and of all the reasons for discrimination.

I am asking in a hypothetical if there is a way someone can think of in this scenario where a person is being subjected to extreme favourable treatment by an employer who for whatever reasons dislikes them and wants them out,knowing they cant just sack them for anything,they are ensuring their colleagues dislike them too by giving them undeserved favourable treatment to possibly oust them.

I was thinking a possible constructive dismissal but the person would have to leave first.

It is all hypothetical scenario i thought of but wanted to open it up to discussion and see what other people think

Claw Hammer

If a person is being treated in a manner which causes them to be isolated socially by their workmates, that is bullying. There are remedies against bullying in the workplace.

sexmag

Claw Hammer wrote: »

If a person is being treated in a manner which causes them to be isolated socially by their workmates, that is bullying. There are remedies against bullying in the workplace.

Yes I can agree it forms bullying in a broader context. But I wonder if a something like that has ever been tried in a court before.

Thanks for your input

GM228

Avenues open would be a case of bullying, victimisation
(depending on the circumstances) and even breach of contract, there is an implied term in employment contracts to care for an employee's mental health, this could be seen as a breach, or a breach of the mutual duty of trust and confidence.

There have been various cases on all three topics over the years.

Curious1002

My opinion is that the employee can always refuse the obvious favourism, e.g.:

1. If you get awarded an extra day off - ask your boss in the email why are you offered this special treatment and if everyone else also receives it. If the employer says "because i like you and you are the only one who gets it", thank him for the gesture and kindly refuse the offer quoting that you feel you dont deserve this treatment, definitely not more than others.

2. If you get a higher salary to others - well, i wouldnt object too much to this one as the salaries are usually confidential so nobody will be able to find out. But if you really dont want to take it then point out to your boss in the email that "Jimmy who is on a similar position deserves the raise much more than I do" or that you are delighted that the entire department is getting a raise. If the boss confirms that it's only you who gets it, ask for the details why he thinks you deserve it more than others. Ball is in his court and he has to come up with some good explanation.

3. If the boss pats you on the shoulder in front of everyone 5 times a week or keeps telling other employees how wonderful you are - avoid the situation when he would have a close physical access to you and when you hear a praise - tell out loud that it's actually a great team work and that Jimmy and Mary did all the job and the praise should go to them.

4. You can always confront the boss, best to have a record, but sometimes a face to face chat is a must followed by an email stating the points that were discussed and that you would like the special uncomfortable to you treatment to stop.

Play around. If he plays dirty tricks to push you out - play smart and always keep a record of the incident, date, time, who witnessed it - send yoursenf an email not to forget or BCC yourself when emailing your boss.

And finally, if you build enough of a "history" of your boss disregarding your numerous requests to stop the favourism and you add e.g. a med certs where you took days off due to stress and bullying, you may have a case at the WRC for a potential constructive dismissal. Otherwise I highly doubt that there is a case. As previously pointed out by another person, the other employees may take a case and you could support their side and become their witness. You can also sit down with your colleagues and explain them that what the boss is doing is super uncomfortable to you and that you asked the boss numerous times to stop this strange behavior to no avail. Ask your colleagues for advice what they would do in your situation. Your colleagues would understand it better if you ask them for "help" and they would then clearly see that nothing works on the boss. It's a quite unusual hypothetical situation and some colleagues may doubt your genuinity as they would feel that nobody would ever want their boss to stop the favourism but if they see it first hand, they'll realise your position and will be on your side.

Courts and Tribunals like clear evidence - emails, letters, witnesses, recordings. They also like to see that you took all available avenues before you reached for a legal help.

Peregrinus

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Regardless of the OP's question, I think you should look up the meaning of discrimination.

The dictionary meaning of discrimination and the legal signficance of discrimination are not the same. In the dictionary sense it's discrimination on my part to prefer vanilla ice cream over strawberry, but that has no legal significance. Discrimination is legally signficant if (a) it's discrimination on one of a limited number of grounds - sex, age, national or ethnic origin, etc - and (b) it results in the person who complains about it getting less favourable treatment. So if I treat you more favourably because you are, e.g., male, you cannot complain about that under the Employment Equality legislation. Your female co-workers, however, can, because they are being treated less favourably than you.

killbillvol2

Peregrinus wrote: »

The dictionary meaning of discrimination and the legal signficance of discrimination are not the same. In the dictionary sense it's discrimination on my part to prefer vanilla ice cream over strawberry, but that has no legal significance. Discrimination is legally signficant if (a) it's discrimination on one of a limited number of grounds - sex, age, national or ethnic origin, etc - and (b) it results in the person who complains about it getting less favourable treatment. So if I treat you more favourably because you are, e.g., male, you cannot complain about that under the Employment Equality legislation. Your female co-workers, however, can, because they are being treated less favourably than you.

Thank you. I've learned something today!