Compensation coup for commis chef in unfair dismissal case

A commis chef, sacked after she refused to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week, has won her unfair dismissal claim and £2,183 compensation.

Anne Fleming, 28, of Glenrothes, claimed she would have little time to see her children if she had to work an 84-hour week at Lomond Country Inn in Kinneswood, Perthshire. Restaurant owners Martin and Rosemary Bald told an employment tribunal in Dundee that she had been sacked because of her behaviour towards head chef John McQueen.

They said McQueen had been unsatisfied with Fleming and asked her to work seven days a week. Fleming, who had worked 46 hours a week, argued this was unfair and illegal. She was dismissed the following week.

The tribunal concluded that the dismissal was the result of her refusal to work the extra time.