Apprentice Stella English loses Viglen legal battle

Series 10 winner alleged her job was a sham, but Sugar hails victory against 'derisory' and opportunistic claim

Former Viglen employee and The Apprentice winner Stella English has lost her case of constructive dismissal against the firm.

The series 10 winner claimed that her £100,000 Viglen job was "a sham" and that boss Bordan Tkachuk told her there was no role for her on her first day.

Chairman of Amstrad, which owns the reseller, Alan Sugar described English as "suspicious" and accused her of trying to extract money from him with the legal proceedings.

Judge John Warren today issued his judgement, in which he rejected English's claim for constructive dismissal. He added that the claim should never have been brought, and said in his judgement that Sugar "did all he could" to support English.

"There was no dismissal of the claimant – the claimant resigned. Therefore the complaint... fails and is dismissed. We have found that the conduct complained of... did not occur," he said in his judgement.

"What was clear and what did happen was that the claimant... was given a 'real job'. It was a real job with scope for advancement and learning for the claimant. The tribunal rejects the claimant's argument that she was given demeaning work."

In a statement, Sugar claimed the tribunal process was an attempt to smear his name.

He said: "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.

"I'm afraid she underestimated me and her reputation is now in tatters. 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."