Wetherspoons manager sacked over giving colleague staff discount for £30 of chicken bites wins unfair dismissal claim

Daily Mail​

20 hours ago

A Wetherspoons manager who was sacked for giving a colleague a staff discount on £30 of chicken bites was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has ruled.
Peter Castagna-Davies was sacked after a row erupted about the meal of chicken, halloumi fries and Monster energy drinks while he was working as a bar shift leader at The Pontlottyn in Abertillery, Monmouthshire.
The 'diligent' manager had worked at the pub chain for over 20 years and had risen to shift leader with a clean record, an employment tribunal heard.
However the hearing was told that on one occasion he scanned through an 'excessive' meal of double portions for a colleague with a 50 percent discount, who then took it home to eat.
Staff at the pub had been informed that they must only put through food which included the discount for themselves and eat it within the pub.
Wetherspoons ruled that Mr Castagna-Davies had broken company policy and dismissed him for gross misconduct.
However he is now set for compensation after the tribunal found his sacking was 'not reasonable' due to his clean record.
The hearing in Cardiff was told Mr Castagna-Davies began working at Wetherspoons in July 2002.
Staff at the pub were entitled to one free meal and soft drink on their shift, with any further food or drink half price. They were also given 20 percent off when not on shift.
All half price food must be consumed within the pub, the hearing was told.
In December 2023, the pub's manager had messaged all staff that the rules were going to be more strictly enforced after workers across the country were found to have over-claimed on their allowance.
On January 31, Mr Castagna-Davies claimed two portions of halloumi fries, two portions of chicken breast bites and two cans of Monster drink with a 50 percent discount for a colleague.
The cost of the items was £29 but was taken to £14.50 with the discount.
Despite going against the rules, the colleague, a kitchen associate, began preparing the food before it had been processed and took it home to eat.
Mr Castagna-Davies was told that if proven his actions could amount to abuse of the employee discount policy, a serious breach of policies, gross incompetence and an act of dishonesty.
The case was taken to a disciplinary hearing within the company and he was dismissed in February 2024 for 'allowing your colleague to purchase excessive products and by allowing him to take them home'.
His appeal against the decision was unsuccessful.
But the tribunal found that due to his long service and clean disciplinary record it was not reasonable to dismiss him for this incident.
Employment Tribunal Judge Rachel Harfield concluded that he was guilty of negligence rather than gross incompetence.
'[He] was acting as a manager at the time and the staff discount system is one built on trust,' she said. 'If open to regular abuse it would be costly to [Wetherspoons].
'It is understandable that [Wetherspoons] generally took a strong attitude to such breaches and that standard was widely known, including by [Mr Castagna-Davies].
'It was one incident on one shift that he could have managed better. He was an employee with long service and a clear disciplinary record.
'There was a basis for the belief [he] was otherwise usually a diligent manager.
'The decision to uphold the dismissal at appeal stage was not within the reasonable range.'