Not so Stella Performance

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Stella English, self proclaimed ‘lackey’ lost her claim for constructive dismissal against Lord Sugar last month.

After initially working for Viglen, she left because she was unhappy and was moved to another company, YouView. Lord Sugar had become non Executive Chairman of this company. Three months later however, she resigned, alleging that her employer had breached fundamental terms of her contract of employment.

At the forefront of her claims was the notion that she was disillusioned with the role she had ‘won’.  Her fundamental expectation was that she should have had personal mentoring from Lord Sugar himself and perhaps a more glamorous role.

The Judgment

Turning back to the hearing itself, it sounds as though it was an acrimonious affair, as you would expect. However, the claims made by Ms English appeared to lack credence. Judge Warren certainly thought so. “This was a claim which should never have been brought” he stated in his Judgment.

Throughout this case there appears to be an undertone of Ms English wanting to extend her 15 minutes of fame. Lord Sugar himself described her as a “chancer” and “money-grabber”. He said: “There was never a case for us to answer but her need for money and fame meant that the whole system was subjected to this charade”.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this case is the way in which Stella English resigned from both of her jobs. When she first resigned from Viglen in May 2011, she did not inform Lord Sugar directly and on her second resignation she first went absent without any notification. Her resignation was then sent to the press via Max Clifford at the same time as Lord Sugar. Obviously she was trying to keep a low profile.

Costs to Follow?

Judge Warren’s final comments in the Judgment are telling. He makes specific reference to Max Clifford and it would not surprise me if an application for costs is made against Ms English given the potency of the Judgment. In the midst of changes to the Tribunal system aimed at discouraging vexatious litigants from bringing spurious claims, perhaps this was seen as the perfect opportunity to warn off as Lord Sugar says “chancers”.