Jessica Uys, a property lettings agent in Manchester, has been awarded nearly £20,000 at employment tribunal after a number of disputes with her former boss.
Ms Uys had worked for Belvoir Lettings in the centre of Manchester as a maintenance manager since 2007, but claims she was forced to leave her job after her former employer asked her to commit perjury.
Mr Harry Dhaliwal, the owner of Belvoir, was facing a court case from a disgruntled client at the time. Ms Uys claims she was asked to overcharge the client for repair work done on his property by Ms Uys’ father, a sub-contractor working for Belvoir Lettings.
The court case against Belvoir was brought after Mr Uys informed the client of the true cost of the work. In what was a serious error of judgement on behalf of Mr Dhaliwal, Ms Uys claims her employer asked her to lie in court about the incident, and that her father was asked to produce a bogus invoice.
Judge Jonathan Parkin said:
“The claimant understood that as a clear warning that were she to attend the hearing and tell the truth she would be dismissed and that she should instead commit perjury.”
He ordered that Mr Dhaliwal (who presumably had professional insurance in place to cover employee disputes) pay Ms Uys £19,745.23 to cover loss of earnings.