In Mr G M v McCallum Foods Ltd Mr GM was left homeless and £20k in debt after being fired from his job as a night shift cleaner at German Doner Kebab in Renfield Street after a row with a manager over holiday pay.
A tribunal ruled that management at the Renfield Street franchise had broken the law when they dismissed the 47-year-old man – and awarded a total of £13,444.20 for breach of contract, unpaid wages and unfair dismissal.
Restaurant bosses however tried to overturn the verdict, demanding a fresh hearing after saying they had failed to receive any notification of Mr GM’s claim as the paperwork had not been sent to their registered office – despite being delivered direct to the city centre eatery.
A tribunal judge refused their appeal – highlighting that they had directly referred to the reference numbers assigned to Mr GM’s case in their submission despite claiming to have never been aware of the original hearing.
They also said German Doner Kebab had failed to provide any further evidence to support its position that Mr GM had acted in a threatening and intimidating manner towards his former boss before he was fired.
The hearing was told that on June 2 this year, the cleaner became embroiled in a disagreement with the manager of the branch in respect of holiday pay for a six-day break he had taken in May.
Mr GM admitted that he shouted in frustration when he was told he wouldn’t be given the full amount he believed he was owed – but denied making any threats of violence.
The tribunal was told that the cleaner was sent a letter headed “confirming suspension and continuing investigation” that outlined how the firm was probing claims that Mr GM had “exerted bullying behaviour”.
He then received a further letter saying that if he failed to attend a meeting in June, a decision would be taken in his absence.
He said: “I was in the right, if I was well enough, I would have gone to defend my position, I didn’t want to lose my job and would have fought to keep it.”
Mr GM was then lettered to tell him he was sacked with no notice or pay in lieu of notice – leaving him penniless.
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