‘Symbolic’ | Asking senior staff to use 'junior' desks could signal a demotion, tribunal finds

HR departments may wish to revisit their seating plans more closely, following a tribunal that indicated making a senior employee sit at a desk associated with a lower-level position could be a breach of employment law.

The unusual case concerned a dispute over desks at an estate agents office, that left one senior employee feeling like his new seating arrangement was a signal of a “demotion.”

According to the tribunal, a situation in which an employee is given a seat typically occupied by a more junior colleague could  “destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence” between that individual and their employer.

A tribunal about desks & implied ‘demotions’ – what happened?

The tribunal concerned an unfair constructive dismissal claim made by estate agent Nicholas Walker, after a disagreement with his boss over a desk allocation.