Dylan Bilyard

Giresse Mbala, a sous chef at Tom Kerridge’s Harrods Fish and Chips restaurant, was dismissed after food-safety breaches involving improperly stored fish, lobster and scallops. An employment tribunal found that the incidents created potential public-health risks and that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses, particularly after an earlier final written warning. Mbala’s unfair-dismissal claim was rejected, but Harrods acknowledged that it had provided only eight weeks’ notice instead of the required 12 weeks, resulting in a £4,024 wrongful-dismissal award.

Jack Burton, a 29-year-old man with paranoid schizophrenia, died from clozapine toxicity about three days after stopping heavy smoking while on holiday. His regular 525mg nightly dose had been appropriate for a smoker because smoking reduces clozapine's effects, but became dangerously high after he quit. Assistant coroner Deborah Lakin warned that patients and psychiatrists need clearer guidance on adjusting clozapine doses when smoking is reduced or stopped, citing inconsistent medical evidence and a lack of standardized recording practices.

An employment tribunal ruled that comments made by sales director Leo Aghili toward junior workers Soraya Qarouane and Ryan Marugah constituted age-related harassment. Both employees, recruited by the now-defunct tech sales company HAIX, were misled about pay structures, underpaid, and dismissed after raising concerns about faulty products and unpaid wages. The tribunal found that Aghili’s remarks, including telling Qarouane to “shut up” and asserting Marugah lacked legal knowledge due to his age, amounted to harassment. HAIX was ordered to pay Qarouane £13,767 and Marugah £11,340 for age harassment and unpaid wages.

A manager at Edenbeck Ltd was wrongly dismissed after being accused of subscribing to explicit dating websites using his work email during a power struggle between the company’s directors. Emails cited as evidence were received after his suspension, and the investigation failed to check alternative explanations or basic account access issues. An employment tribunal ruled the inquiry unreasonable and the dismissal unfair, awarding Chris Tweedie over £119,000 in compensation.

A Liverpool Employment Tribunal ruled that sending unwanted GIFs to a colleague can amount to harassment under UK employment law after security guard Georgiana Ursuleanu was awarded £13,736. The tribunal found that a GIF sent by colleague Dale Rae containing the phrase “bitch I am lying” constituted sex‑related harassment, particularly in the context of previous upsetting comments she had experienced. While the tribunal accepted Rae’s claim that he did not intend to offend, it determined the effect on Ursuleanu was reasonable given the circumstances. Some of her additional claims, including race‑related harassment and discrimination, were dismissed.