£14,000 award for Gaiety barmaid sacked by text
A Dundee pub boss who sacked a barmaid by text message has been ordered to pay her more than £14,000 for unfair dismissal.
- By Grant Smith
- Published in the Courier : 14.10.10
- Published online : 14.10.10 @ 02.39pm
An employment tribunal heard Louise Connarty, of the Gaiety Bar in Charleston, dismissed Karen Ogilvie for sleeping in.
The tribunal took place without Ms Connarty being present or represented.
Ms Ogilvie said she had worked at the pub since summer 2006 until her sacking in January this year. On January 2, Ms Ogilvie said, she worked from 11am-4pm and again from 6pm-midnight.
There were usually two staff present, but she had been left on her own for most of the evening shift and became stressed.
The next day she slept in and missed the start of her shift. She then received a text message from her employer stating, "As you have decided not to come in tonight, any wages due and a week in lieu will be put through your door on Friday."
Ms Ogilvie said she had asked if this was a joke, but Ms Connarty replied she was not joking and that because Ms Ogilvie had not come in she had no option but to dismiss her.
In a written judgment released on Wednesday, the tribunal said the sacking had taken place without an investigation, a meeting or any right of appeal.
"On the basis of the evidence before us, the claimant was dismissed by text message but she was not given any opportunity whatsoever to provide an explanation for lateness," it found.
It had been "a particularly egregious failure" to comply with the most basic requirements of employment law.
The tribunal has ruled that Ms Ogilvie should receive £14,355 for unfair dismissal, plus almost £1300 for breach of contract and in lieu of annual leave.
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