Constructive dismissal claim fails for Hilton barman

A former barman at the Hilton Waldorf hotel in London has had his claim of constructive dismissal through racial discrimination thrown out by an employment tribunal.

Ernesto Watkins, a 59-year-old Filipino, was working as an assistant bar manager when Hilton took over the property and began a £30m refurbishment in 2004.

He complained that his reassignment from the hotel's cocktail bar to the restaurant bar was a racially motivated demotion and launched a grievance procedure in October 2004. Watkins quit three months later, having turned down the post of cocktail manager.

However, the members of the employment tribunal disagreed with his complaint.

Waldorf general manager Amanda Scott said she was disappointed the case had had to go to tribunal. "We did our absolute utmost to resolve this, but I felt he had already made his mind up," she said.