UK company sued after sacking employee for moving to France

She took the case to the employment tribunal

More and more companies have opted for this style of work, as employees and employers alike are able to have a more balanced work-life balance. 

Whether you are taking care of your children, your cat, your dog, or even making time to do some chores around the house, it’s been a life changer for many. 

However, this much freedom can lead to certain employees taking advantage of this mode of life. 

There are many instances of people taking their laptop on vacation to answer emails and hopping on the occasional Teams meeting.

However, some might take it a bit further. 

A finance worker for Teleperformance, a SaaS UK-based company, had the idea of moving across the channel.

Iryna Malyk’s husband had an opportunity in France and she decided to follow him there, while continuing to work for the UK-based company.

However, upon giving notice to her boss, he promptly responded that this was not possible. 

Iryna ignored the email from her boss and proceeded to work from France, which led to her getting sacked, to which she responded by suing her former employer.

The tribunal was told: "In a follow-up call on June 26, Mr Aouate told Ms Malyk that she could not work on UK projects in France on a permanent basis because the laws are different and this would cause legal and tax issues.

"Later on June 26, Ms Malyk emailed Drussila Solomon, head of HR in the UK, saying that due to personal circumstances she was moving to France in July, and was planning to continue to work from home from there.

"She said Mr Aouate had told her she wouldn't be able to perform her duties from France as it would mean breach of certain law."

A letter addressed to Iryna said: “I understand that you are in a difficult position, but for the reasons stated above, I am afraid it is simply not feasible for you to work for Teleperformance Contact Limited from France.

“I must therefore confirm that it is a reasonable management instruction to require you to attend work in the UK. 

“Failure to attend work in the UK will be treated as pre-meditated unauthorised absence and a failure to follow a reasonable management instruction. 

“One potential sanction for failure to follow a reasonable management instruction, following an appropriate disciplinary procedure, is dismissal from the Company without notice or notice pay."

Although the company had clearly stated that it was not feasible for Iryna to work from France, she believed to have grounds in an employment tribunal.

However, the judge did not believe the Iryna had a leg to stand on in this case.

She declared her contract “expressly states that Ms Malyk will work from her home in the UK.”

Iryna’s case was promptly dismissed as it was described as “not well founded.”