Ex-Apprentice Winner Loses Sugar Job Case

Former Apprentice winner Stella English has lost her claim of constructive dismissal against millionaire businessman Lord Sugar.

Ms English, 34, sued the Labour peer after resigning from the £100,000-a-year job that was her prize for winning series six of the BBC1 show in 2010.

She complained her role at Lord Sugar's Viglen division was that of an "overpaid lackey", which her former boss strongly denied.

Ms English also claimed the job was "a sham" and a "PR construct", a tribunal heard last month.

The businessman insisted he had no case to answer and that Ms English was after his money.

In a written judgment, the tribunal said: "There was no dismissal of the claimant - the claimant resigned.

"Therefore the complaint of unfair constructive dismissal contrary to section 95 Employment Rights Act 1996 fails and is dismissed."

Ms English and Lord Sugar pictured after she won The Apprentice

Reacting to the verdict, Lord Sugar said the case was a "charade" and he vowed to put an end to the so-called claim culture.

After winning the TV series, Ms English was given a job at Viglen, supplying IT equipment to academy schools.

But she claimed that when the business mogul told her he would not be renewing her contract she was given no choice but to resign.

Ms English, who quit Viglen in May 2011, said she had no real role there and was not taken seriously by her colleagues.

She said did not feel like Lord Sugar's "apprentice" as she only saw him five times during her 13-month employment.

Ms English fought back tears as she said she was given no guidance about what she was meant to be doing, and was "ostracised" by her colleagues, who told her she had taken over another woman's job, which had a salary of £35,000.

Allegedly relegated to carrying out basic administrative tasks, mother of two Ms English said her employment was a "sham".

Lord Sugar said Ms English tried to 'extract money' from him

Ms English, of Whitstable, Kent, said she felt pressurised into taking up a new position at Lord Sugar's internet set-top box company You View.

In September 2011, Ms English was told that her contract was not being renewed and she then quit.

However, the peer said there was no long-term position available at YouView following the end of her 12-month contract and that she had already made it clear she did not want to work at Viglen.

Tribunal judge John Warren concluded Ms English was "ill-advised" to continue with the case and also found she was given a "real job" at Viglen.

At the tribunal, Lord Sugar accused Ms English of lying and taking him to a tribunal "to extract money from me".

He said: "She is a suspicious, untrusting person and one who believes she has always been done down and places blame with others.

"I believe this claim, together with its publication in the media, is simply an attempt to extract money from me."

He said Ms English wrongly believed he was "scared" of articles about him or The Apprentice appearing in the press and that he would pay her off to avoid a hearing.

After the tribunal ruling, 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.

"I have been cleared of a derisory attempt to smear my name and extract money from me.

"The allegations were without substance, and I believe this case was brought with one intention in mind - the presumption that I would not attend the tribunal, that I would not testify and that I would settle out of court, sending Ms English on her way with a tidy settlement."

He added: "This case was a sham and a total abuse of a tribunal system, which is there to protect employees who have been mistreated.

"It is not there to aid those chancing their arm at landing a big payday. I hope that other companies will learn from this example and also fight off derisory claims."

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