A colleague at work was recently promoted, although no-one inside or outside the company was interviewed for the post. I am now being asked to apply for his old job, but I don’t think this is fair. Would I have a case for compensation at an employment tribunal?
Unless your contract says differently your employer has no obligation to offer you or anyone else the chance of promotion within the firm. Employers have an implied duty of “mutual trust and confidence” among employees, but it would be a long shot to suggest that failure to offer you the chance of applying for promotion undermined this. The only grounds for complaint you might have would be if you could show you were offered less favourable treatment on the basis of your age, race, sex, age or disability, or in some cases because you work part-time.