A baker who was dismissed from his job because his bread had too many holes in has been awarded more than £15,000 in compensation because his employer did not adequately inform him about its performance concerns.
An employment tribunal heard that Mr Piaszczynski, who was head baker at Leakers Bakery in Bridport, Dorset, was dismissed in December 2021 after his employer raised concerns about his baking on several occasions.
While the tribunal found Piaszczynski was dismissed for a fair reason, it found failures in the way the bakery warned the claimant about his performance, and noted there had been no discussion about training to improve it.
The way his dismissal was handled was also procedurally unfair.
Performance management
Piaszczynski claimed to have had no knowledge or suspicion that his performance was in question prior to his dismissal, however his employer said he had been told on a number of occasions about problems with the quality of bread he was producing.
The company would leave notes on his workstation, as well as examples of loaves it was unhappy with.
One note in December 2020 said: “I have asked you many, many times to make sure there are no holes in the middle of the loaf of bread. I have explained that our customers do not like to have holes in the middle when they are trying to make a sandwich or butter toast. They get irritated by it and there is a chance they will stop buying our bread…. However, as you continually take no notice, I am issuing you with a written warning.”
He received a further verbal warning and a final written warning in December 2021.
The tribunal heard that the company only left written letters on his workbench at the start of each day, rather than hand him a letter or send him an email or letter by post.
The notes were written in English and evidence suggested the company knew Piaszczynski could not read English well. The tribunal said this was unsatisfactory.
He was dismissed from the company in December 2021. He was called to a meeting without warning and was not told he could bring a representative. He was not provided with any evidence of his poor performance during this meeting.
The employment tribunal, sitting in Bristol, found the company’s handling of his dismissal breached the Acas code of conduct. This made the dismissal unfair.
The tribunal’s judgment said: “In performance cases of this sort, an employee needed to have been provided with an adequate and clear explanation as to why he was considered to have been failing in the role. Adequate warning, with targets and opportunities for improvement, needed to have been given. Sometimes further training might have been appropriate.”
Part of Piaszczynski’s compensation was reduced because of his performance, and because he would have lost his job along with other Leakers Bakery employees in October 2022, when it shut down citing rising operating costs.
The claimant received compensation for unpaid holiday pay and shortcomings in the written terms of his employment contract.
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Employment Judge John Livesey awarded Piaszczynski compensation of £15,703.21 in total.
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