Fox Williams has advised inventor Calvey Taylor-Haw in his successful unfair dismissal claim concluded yesterday at the Watford Employment Tribunal.
Mr Taylor-Haw founded vehicle charging company Elektromotive in 2003 and sold it to competitor firm Chargemaster in 2017. As part of the transaction he was allocated share options.
In October 2017 Mr Taylor-Haw was dismissed from the company and agreed to work his 12-month notice, having been assured that he would still receive his share options. During his notice period Chargemaster was acquired by BP at a price which valued his options at £1million. However, when Mr Taylor-Haw tried to exercise his options Chargemaster refused to allow him to do so. During the ET hearing the former CEO of Chargemaster asserted that no assurances relating to the provision of his share options had been made.
The tribunal, however, took a contrary view. “I find as a matter of fact that during the redundancy meetings, the share options were discussed and… that he would still receive his options,” the judge said in the ruling upholding Mr Taylor-Haw’s claim for unfair dismissal.
Employment partner Jane Mann and litigation partner David Butler advised Calvey Taylor-Haw, with senior associate Rebecca Richardson and associate Parissa Torabi.
Jane Mann said “We are delighted at this outcome, which accepts and upholds every aspect of our client’s claim. The judgement is a vindication of our strategy and meticulous preparation. The focus will now move to the High Court, where our client will seek to recover the sums due to him under the share options.”