Mr R J Vale v Jimmy Garcia Catering Ltd — 2022

The claimant worked as head chef for Jimmy Garcia Catering Ltd from 9 June 2021 until 1 July 2021. The tribunal found that the oral contract was agreed at £17 per hour only, and rejected the claimant's case that he was also entitled to 10% of takings. It also found that the claimant did not raise the health and safety issues he later alleged on 14 June 2021; the first relevant WhatsApp complaint accepted by the tribunal was on 24 June 2021.

On 24 June 2021 the claimant sent messages and photographs about greasy fridges, paperwork, dirty fryers, black oil and other hygiene issues, and on 1 July 2021 he sent further text and email complaints about Mr Bayasgalan. The tribunal held that these communications did amount to qualifying disclosures and were protected disclosures because they tended to show potential breaches of health and safety and legal obligations. However, it found that the dispute with Mr Bayasgalan on 1 July was mainly driven by the claimant shouting at him, pointing at him and calling him stupid, together with the claimant's own complaints about staffing and conduct.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's allegation that Mr Bayasgalan threatened him with a knife, describing that account as not credible. It found that the claimant left the kiosk at 11.09 because of the heated clash and because he thought Mr Bayasgalan was insubordinate, not because he was in circumstances of serious and imminent danger. It therefore dismissed the automatic unfair dismissal claim under the health and safety and protected disclosure provisions. It also found that the protected disclosures did not materially influence Mr Bayasgalan's treatment of the claimant, so the whistleblowing detriment claim failed.

The tribunal found that Mr Lees dismissed the claimant by telephone later on 1 July 2021, and that he did not understand the claimant's words and actions as a resignation. The reasons for dismissal were the claimant's shouting at Mr Bayasgalan, leaving the shift shortly before service and demanding that Mr Bayasgalan be sacked. The unlawful deduction from wages claim also failed because the claimant had been paid the agreed £17 per hour and there was no agreed entitlement to an additional percentage of takings.