General manager wins £21,000 payout after complaining about 'unbearable' restaurant heat

A restaurant general manager has been awarded more than £21,000 in damages after being sacked for complaining that faulty equipment caused "unbearable" temperatures for customers and staff.

Alice Bailey lost her job at PF Chang’s Asian Table on London’s Great Newport Street in August 2020 after telling bosses that broken air conditioning had led to "unbelievably hot" temperatures.

An employment tribunal heard that customer reviews showed guests had complained about the heat and some had felt faint and vomited.

A photo showed a customer receiving aid where she had collapsed on the pavement outside the restaurant, which had recorded a temperature of 44 degrees Celsius inside.

Bailey started working for the company in July 2017 and became general manager at the restaurant in January 2019.

The London PF Chang’s restaurant is run under franchise by Kuwait-based Alshaya Group and operated through holding company Diverse Dining.

The tribunal heard that in 2018 Bailey told Alshaya’s vice president Jim Dunn about the poor state of the restaurant air conditioners, but he said, "nothing will be done so it’s better to get used to it".

There were also ongoing issues with the restaurant fridges, which were not fitted properly, so perishable food was not stored at low enough temperatures.

The restaurant was closed due to the pandemic in March 2020 and 75 members of staff were dismissed and Bailey was put on furlough.

It reopened in July 2020 and, that same month, Bailey sent an email to management complaining that the walk-in fridge had been broken for two weeks, the phone had been down for nearly a week, and none of the electric sockets in the pastry department were working so there was no electricity in the pastry fridge.

She added that the air conditioning in the restaurant was not working, and sweat was "dropping off people’s faces".

Bailey asked for help as they were "not healthy working conditions" and said things were "not getting fixed". In a later email to bosses that month she said service had been "unbearable" and "very stressful on the chefs".

Two days later Bailey was told by management that she had been made redundant as the business was struggling due to the pandemic, with takings expected to be 50% down. She was not told her role was ‘at risk’ and spoken to as though the decision was already made.

The assistant general manager of the restaurant was given additional duties following her dismissal and a pay rise from £38,000 to £42,000 per year.

The next day remaining staff messaged her saying she had been banned from the restaurant, which made Bailey feel as though she had been portrayed as having done something wrong.

In a telephone call with management Bailey said she believed she was being targeted after voicing her concerns about equipment. She was offered an alternative head chef role but turned it down as it was unsuitable.

Bailey received her letter of dismissal in August 2020 and lost an initial appeal against the decision.

Judge Burns said he was not satisfied there was a "genuine redundancy situation" and that the general manager role was still needed as another employee took on the position in all but name after Bailey’s dismissal.

He added that the decision to dismiss Bailey was due to her "whistleblowing emails" which management "preferred to turn a blind eye to”.

The judge ruled she was entitled to £400 for loss of statutory rights and ordered Diverse Dining to pay her £21,563 for loss of earnings.

Burns said: “What happened…was nothing other than [Diverse Dining] seeking to justify and gift-wrap a dismissal decision rather than carry out a genuine consultation before the decision was made.”

He added: “The decision appears to have been rushed, poorly planned and clumsily implemented without genuine consultation of the claimant or others who it is to be expected should have been consulted. This tends to indicate that the dismissal was not based on any proper business decision.”

Alshaya has been contacted for comment.

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