EMPLOYMENT: A Graduate with a Master's degree in multimedia, who was told by management at Dublin-based streaming media firm Servecast to work the switchboard, has been awarded more than €12,000 by an employment appeals tribunal.

Ms Rachel Briscoe, who worked for Servecast from November 1999 to February 2001, told the tribunal she was gradually demoted until her position became untenable, despite being one of the longest-serving members of staff and having excellent qualifications.

Ms Briscoe said she tried to resolve the problem through the firm's grievance procedures but to no avail and these difficulties led to stress, which eventually forced her to resign from her position.

In her evidence to the tribunal, she said she was recruited to assist with broadcast and sales. In this position she answered telephones, did cold-calling, proposals, presentations, mailshots and databases for marketing. She was working as a business development manager at a time when she was called a client relations manager and, although she never got commission, she did sales work and was congratulated by the chief executive, according to her evidence.

But by mid-2000 the firm recruited a financial controller, who brought in another executive who handed her a "torn-up piece of foolscap" and asked her to type what was on it. Ms Briscoe said she was concerned she could be put in an administrative role and asked if a temp could be hired for a few weeks. She told the tribunal she was very distressed when this was not done.

Subsequently, she took on a customer-relations role but was required to do the switch for two hours per day. She told the tribunal she felt she had no option but to resign.

Servecast, which raised €40 million in funding in 2000 and received investment from Mr Eddie Jordan and Mr Denis O'Brien, was represented by IBEC at the tribunal hearings held during 2001. Servecast's counsel said the firm had "bent over backwards" for the claimant but could not "meet all her desires".

Mr Kevin Quinn, who was chief executive at the time of Ms Briscoe's appointment, gave evidence at the tribunal. He said the firm was not looking for someone of Ms Briscoe's qualifications at the time when she was recruited but that her qualifications could be useful in the future. He said he did not know why she did not like the customer-relations role and he had spoken to staff to see if she could be given less secretarial work. He said he was shocked by her resignation.

Servecast's former financial controller, now human resources and business operations manager, also gave evidence to the tribunal. He told the tribunal he had asked Ms Briscoe to do some typing but, when he heard that she had a difficulty about this, it did not happen again.

The tribunal found that the diminution of the claimant's responsibilities over a period of time constituted a constructive dismissal. The decision notice, which has been obtained by The Irish Times, shows Ms Briscoe was awarded compensation worth €12,697.39.

A Servecast spokesman said yesterday that no appeal had been lodged challenging the tribunal's decision.