Case 3324206/2019 · Employment Tribunal

Miss Albena Breneska v Mediterranean Foods (London) Limited — 2022

Case reference: 3324206/2019
Decision date: 11 May 2022
Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Judge: Employment Judge G Tobin Members
Venue: Watford Hearing Centre
Panel members: Ms P Barratt, Mrs J Hancock

Indexed: 23 May 2026

Parties

2 named

Claimant

Miss Albena Breneska

Respondent

Mediterranean Foods (London) Limited

Key findings

Tribunal's reasoning

The tribunal found that Miss Albena Breneska made three protected disclosures on 3 July 2018, 28 May 2019 and 28 June 2019. It upheld two of the four claimed detriments connected with those disclosures: her suspension on 1 July 2019 and being blamed unfairly for a colleague’s mistake on 29 June 2019 and 1 July 2019. The tribunal also found that she was dismissed because she had made a protected disclosure, in breach of s103A Employment Rights Act 1996.

It further found that the claimant was unfairly dismissed under s94 Employment Rights Act 1996 and that the dismissal was in breach of contract, with notice pay due. Her separate claim that she had been underpaid annual leave entitlement under regulations 13 and 30 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 was dismissed.

The tribunal awarded £8,000 for injury to feelings arising from the protected disclosure detriments, £3,150.90 gross notice pay, and unfair dismissal compensation of £36,061.87, made up of a £3,937.50 basic award and a £32,124.37 compensatory award. The compensatory award included £22,979.41 for loss of earnings, £500 for loss of statutory rights, £742.96 for pension loss, £7,652 for retraining and £250 for job-search expenses. The total award was £47,212.77, with a prescribed element of £22,979.41 covering 30 August 2019 to 10 May 2022 and a balance of £24,233.36.

Claims and outcomes

4 findings recorded

Claim type	Issue or finding	Outcome	Protected characteristic	Award
Whistleblowing	The tribunal found that the claimant made three protected disclosures on 3 July 2018, 28 May 2019 and 28 June 2019. It upheld two of the four claimed detriments linked to those disclosures: her suspension on 1 July 2019 and being blamed unfairly for a colleague’s mistake on 29 June 2019 and 1 July 2019. The judgment also found that she was dismissed because she had made a protected disclosure, in breach of s103A Employment Rights Act 1996.	Upheld	—	£8,000
Breach of contract	The tribunal found that the claimant was dismissed in breach of contract and was owed notice pay, recorded as £3,150.90 gross.	Upheld	—	£3,151
Unfair dismissal	The tribunal found that the respondent unfairly dismissed the claimant in breach of s94 Employment Rights Act 1996.	Upheld	—	£36,062
Holiday pay	The tribunal found that the claimant was not underpaid in respect of her annual leave entitlement under regulations 13 and 30 of the Working Time Regulations 1998.	Dismissed	—	—

Remedy

Monetary award

Total award: £47,213; across all upheld claims
Basic award: £3,938; statutory, unfair dismissal
Compensatory award: £32,124; compensatory remedy recorded

Legal tests applied

4 references

Official outcome judgment PDF

Gov.uk primary record

The official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.

Open official judgment PDF on gov.uk

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