When Ms Roach returned from annual leave on 18 June 2024, she was called into a meeting where her manager presented her proposal using a PowerPoint slide deck. She had until June 24, 2024 to provide feedback. The entire consultation period lasted only six days.
The first serious problems quickly appeared. At that meeting, Ms. Roach was told that she would need to apply for reassignment to an alternative position. The HR business partner later admitted that he had heard “Mr. Roach say something to that effect during the meeting.” Under the employment agreement, suitable alternative positions should have been offered automatically rather than through a competitive application process.
Officials found that this mistake was not properly corrected. Even when Roach resigned on July 1, 2024, her email revealed that she still believed she needed to apply. “While I appreciate the suggestion to apply for the Transaction Specialist position, the Accounts Payable Officer position, or the currently vacant Accounts Receivable Team Leader position, I do not believe that being with Pam is in the best interest of my health, and I am now experiencing anxiety for the first time in my life.”
Officials questioned why Mr. Pam chose to eliminate the occupied AP team leader role when the AR team leader position was actually vacant and filled by someone on a fixed-term contract. The company claimed that the automation primarily affected the AP team, but the agency noted that there was insufficient explanation of how increased processing efficiency would lead to the elimination of supervisory roles rather than team member positions.
The consultation process looked thorough on paper. Mr. Roach provided detailed feedback questioning that rationale and recommending an immediate transition to a single transaction processing team. However, authorities pointed out a fatal flaw. That is, Pam’s response to her feedback was only provided after a decision had already been made. The decision was communicated to Ms Roach via email on June 26, 2024, while she was on sick leave, with a response to her concerns attached to the same message.
