British Woman Gets Sacked For Having Lunch Outside The Company, Wins 11000 Pounds For Unfair Dismissal
Back in 2018, Tracie Shearwood was sacked from her job at Lean Education and Development in Dudley, West Midlands, England. The reason behind her dismissal? She went outside with her two co-workers for lunch.
Employee Got Sacked For Going Out For Lunch With Her Co-Workers
The unlikely case disturbed many as the news spread that Shearwood was removed from her position for such a trivial matter. According to Metro UK, Shearwood ticked her managing director Maxine Jones off the wrong way after she left for lunch "at the height" of a crisis at work.
Her going out to lunch was viewed as "disloyalty" and a lack of "commitment" to the company by the managing director.??Soon, after Shearwood angered Jones, she was removed from her position for gross misconduct. Seeing as the situation felt unfair to Shearwood, she filed for unfair dismissal and won over 11,000 pounds in compensation.
Sometime before Shearwood was sacked, Jones suspended the worker and had her printing duties removed, citing "serious errors."? She even indicated a disciplinary meeting. After seeing herself be treated in such a way, Shearwood was "extremely upset" and filed a grievance. After a thorough investigation, Shearwood¡¯s suspension was dropped. Just a day after her suspension had been revoked, it irked Jones that she had left the company for lunch, which was an act of "disloyalty" in Jones¡¯ eyes. The director suspended her again that day.
The Sacked Employee Was Awarded Compensation For Unfair Dismissal
Following the second suspension, Shearwood was fired for gross misconduct when another disciplinary meeting was held, blaming her for "pure negligence" and mistakes in her paperwork. After learning of these facts, the recent tribunal ruled that the company¡¯s reasons for Shearwood¡¯s dismissal were invalid. The ruling, therefore, supported her claim of unfair dismissal and awarded her the money as compensation.
The story is a nightmare for company workers who like to lounge outside for their lunch. Bosses can have immense power over their employees, whether it be structural or cultural; if misused, similar cases would come forward. Fortunately for Shearwood, the law sided with her claim and awarded her compensation.
From the looks of it, Jones will be looking ahead to a disciplinary meeting as a result of her malpractices and extremely unhealthy ways to regulate the environment at work. Through the investigation, it was also found that Jones put pressure on her?employees?by sending out stressfully exaggerated emails about the company¡¯s current status. In an email that was found during the investigation, it was clear that Jones had exaggerated the gravity of the situation as she informed her?staff?that the company was at risk of closing down.
Source: Metro UK
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