Latest news with #disabilitydiscrimination
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Hotel chef sacked over blazing row with boyfriend in front of guests because he had slept with one of her friends blames anxiety as she wins £13,000 for wrongful dismissal
A young chef who was sacked from a luxury hotel after a foul-mouthed rant at her 'cheating' boyfriend in front of shocked guests has been awarded more than £13,000 by an employment tribunal. Abbie Garner, 21, triggered a slew of complaints when she accused colleague Dylan Bolt of sleeping with one of her friends, screaming: 'You f****** made me love you, then you cheated on me, you c***.' She was dismissed following a surly appearance at a disciplinary hearing where she turned up late and snapped: 'I have apologised. What else do you want?' But she has won a claim for disability discrimination against The Lifehouse Spa and Hotel in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex, after arguing her 'inability to control her anger' was because she was suffering from anxiety and depression at the time. The commis chef was told she would receive £13,455 in damages due to her 'unfavourable treatment'. The four-star 12-acre resort, which promises guests 'a world of complete serenity in our adults-only oasis' and charges up to £269 for an exclusive spa day, declined to comment when approached by the Mail. A spokeswoman said: 'This is a personnel-related matter and our company policy means we will not comment on an employee, either current or previous.' Ms Garner's father, David, 51, said: 'You can't see all disabilities. 'I'm not trying to say that the hotel are bad people. They made a common mistake and they have to realise that this is now unacceptable to treat staff or anyone in that manner. There needs to be more understanding.' He added: 'It was a horrible break-up, unfortunately, but as they worked and lived together we tried to support them. But at work we couldn't do anything. 'She's doing well in herself [now]. She's got a new job, totally changed career because she could not handle the stress in a kitchen and the way it was handled. 'She's now working in care, so she's away from the one room hot stress scenario. 'The money won't change anything. She wants to work.' The peace and quiet at the hotel was shattered on August 9, 2023, when Ms Garner, who worked in the hotel's two AA Rosette restaurant, got into an argument with her then-boyfriend at the start of her shift. 'Several of the staff heard [Miss Garner's] voice loudly swearing', the tribunal heard. 'She was arguing with Dylan Bolt, who she had been in a relationship with at the time. Mr Bolt had apparently slept with one of her friends. 'The argument started in a corridor outside the laundry room near the kitchen. This corridor connects to both the spa reception and an outdoor sunbathing area, both of which are used by guests. 'This corridor is open plan, with hard walls and floor – we accept that the sound echoes – and the door to the spa reception is open during the summer months. '[Miss Garner] was heard shouting 'f***' and 'c***' at Mr Bolt by numerous staff and guests, including in the spa reception. 'The argument continued into the outdoor loading bay area next to a sunbathing area used by guests.' A staff member told the hotel's investigation: 'I could hear shouting and swearing. The swearing from the female could be heard in the spa reception areas. 'The female member of staff was saying 'You fucking made me love you, then you cheated on me, you c***'. 'The male member of staff was saying 'I'm not f****** doing this now' and she replied 'F*** off then'. 'She was obviously angry and screaming and shouting but the language used and the shouting was not acceptable.' The argument continued until a restaurant manager, Jean Mercure, intervened, the hearing was told. He took Miss Garner into reception, while the head chef led Mr Bolt into the changing rooms. The next day Sarah Tester, the hotel's finance and operations director, received several complaints about the shouting, with one guest giving negative remarks upon checking out. After the investigation, Miss Garner was asked to attend to a disciplinary hearing on August 15, 2023. But she failed to apologise when she turned up late, admitted she had not fully read her invitation letter and was not accompanied by a representative. She admitted to the shouting and swearing and that it was unacceptable in the workplace but blamed Mr Bolt for her behaviour. At the end of the meeting, she told Ms Tester: 'I have apologised. What else do you want? Ms Tester concluded that Miss Garner had committed serious misconduct and decided to fire her. The decision was then appealed, with Miss Garner stating that her irritability, anger and mood swings arose from her disabilities of depression, anxiety and polycystic ovary syndrome - a condition that affects fertility, metabolism and overall health - which she had previously made the hotel aware of. When her appeal was turned down, she took the hotel's owners, Thorpe Hall Leisure Limited, to the tribunal in east London where she won claims for disability discrimination and a failure to make reasonable adjustments. Employment Judge Catrin Lewis accepted Ms Garner's 'continued employment posed a risk to the respondent's reputation' but added this didn't justify filing to consider whether her conduct was linked to mental health. She said: 'We have found that [Miss Garner's] inability to control her anger and her abruptness in the disciplinary meeting both arose in consequence of her disability. 'It was not disputed that being dismissed amounted to unfavourable treatment. 'We are satisfied that Ms Tester was aware that [her] behaviour was unusual and she was also aware that [she] had recently returned to work after a period of poor mental health and was on anti-depressant medication.' The hotel, which has treatment rooms, a gym, pool, spa and 89 guestrooms, was dubbed the UK's first 'dementia spa' in 2019 after it started offering treatments for people with the condition.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Executive whose job was given to someone else while she was off sick with breast cancer wins £1.2m payout
A senior female executive has won more than £1.2 million after her job was given to someone else whilst she was off sick with breast cancer. Andrea Wainwright was left feeling 'traumatised and broken' when she found out on Linkedin that a colleague had taken over her role, an employment tribunal heard. The 48-year-old 'fighter' - who was paid more than £80,000 a year - discovered the move by the banking services firm she was employed by just three months after taking time off work to undergo chemotherapy. When she was well enough to return, she made an official complaint about her treatment and then resigned. Five years later she won her claim for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal after successfully suing cashpoint firm Cennox. Ms Wainwright has now been awarded a staggering £1,224,861 in total compensation. Following her success, Ms Wainwright, from Chelmsford, Essex, told how losing her job following her diagnosis had 'destroyed' her and she had gone through the employment tribunal process on 'principal'. The tribunal heard she began working for the company - who provide ATM machines - as head of installations in January 2018, after the firm took over her previous employers. Ms Wainwright was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in August of that year and, after informing her bosses, took sick leave and started chemotherapy four days later. The East London hearing was told that senior colleague Shelley Cawthorne temporarily stepped into her role. In late October Ms Cawthorne told Stephen Garrod, Ms Wainwright's manager, that she had been offered a senior position at a competitor. The tribunal heard this would have been a 'blow' to the company and so Mr Garrod offered her a permanent position as Head of Installations with a plan to split the role when Ms Wainwright returned. Ms Cawthorne started her new role on November 1 and a new organisational chart was sent out. This email was not sent to Ms Wainwright and there was no mention of her in the document. But she became aware of the appointment three weeks later when she saw a post on LinkedIn inviting viewers to 'Congratulate Shelley for starting a new position as Head of Installations at Cennox', the tribunal heard, and was left 'understandably concerned'. Ms Wainwright emailed HR Director Jennifer Spencer-Lee to clarify what was happening and what impact it would have for her return. Ms Spencer-Lee told Ms Wainwright it was 'not expected' to affect her role and that Ms Cawthorne was leading the team 'for now'. The tribunal found that this email was 'misleading' as it gave the impression Ms Cawthorne's role was temporary. Ms Wainwright was then informed at a return to work meeting with Mr Garrod and Ms Spencer-Lee in June 2019 that the role was going to be split. The tribunal heard that Ms Wainwright was unhappy with this and thought she had been demoted because of her cancer diagnosis. She submitted an 11-page grievance two days after returning to work at the end of July saying she had been lied to by Mr Garrod and Ms Spencer-Lee. Her complaint was not upheld and then at the end of August she discovered she had been misled, as Ms Cawthorne told her that her appointment as Head of Installations was permanent, not temporary as her bosses had claimed. When Ms Wainwright's appeal against the decision to reject her grievance was then delayed because the investigator fell ill, she resigned. In her resignation letter to Ms Spencer-Lee on September 27 she wrote: 'I am very unhappy about the way I have been treated and set out some of the more serious matters. 'I was assured that my role was unchanged but when I returned to work I did not return to my existing role. I was demoted and several key responsibilities were taken away from me.' The tribunal found that Ms Wainwright had been misled about the changes to her role and discriminated against. Employment Judge Catrin Lewis found Ms Wainwright 'felt traumatised and broken as a result of she had indeed been lied to, which was found to have been an act of discrimination.' The judge added: 'At that time (she) had been through cancer treatment and was recovering, although she was on continuing medication in respect of the chances of recurrence. 'She had been well enough to return to work and had been described as a fighter.' Speaking after the tribunal decision, Ms Wainwright said her 25-year-old daughter has lifelong care needs and building a career whilst caring for her daughter had been hard. 'I never did this for money, I did this on principle', she said. 'To lose your job and career just because of a cancer diagnosis really destroys you, at a time when everything is in question, I was fighting for my life and the to have everything else taken away from you is unbelievable. 'I hope the outcome will prevent such blatant discrimination from happening again. 'It will allow me to close the door on a very unpleasant chapter, I am still having to rebuild from scratch. 'I fight for other cancer survivors, the only way to stop this to challenge it.' Ms Wainwright added that the £1.2 million award will give her some space to recover without the financial pressures she has been experiencing. 'I have had financial pressure from day one', she added. 'Then I hope it will give me the money to invest in my future career once I have had a chance to think about that. 'It has been very disruptive, I am having to start my career from scratch through no fault of my own. 'It has been a very turbulent few years.' Ms Wainwright has been awarded a total compensation of £1,224,861.94, including a previously announced £40,000 for injury to feelings. The award also includes almost £400,00 in past loss of earnings, £300,00 for future losses and £130,000 in interest payments.
