Three chefs accused their workplace of racism after being fired for filing fake time sheets.
The chefs, Marian Coltofean, Monika Banasiak, and Elisabete Dos Santos Rocha, accused Royal Harwich Yacht Club in Suffolk of racism after being dismissed in October 2023.
One of Britain’s oldest yacht clubs, it was founded in 1843 – and received endorsements from Queen Victoria and Prince Philip.
The trio’s claims were dismissed after an employment tribunal agreed the group had conspired to make false claims they worked dozens more hours than they actually had.
Workers at the yacht club self-logged their hours, the Norwich tribunal heard.
The three were the only foreign nationals in the catering team. Ms Banasiak is Polish, Ms Rocha is Portugese, and Mr Coltofean is Romanian.
Mr Coltofean served as the club’s catering manager and signed off on Ms Banasiak and Ms Rocha’s time sheets, who served as chefs.
The club catering manager was also in a relationship with Ms Banasiak and the two were living together at the time.
Royal Harwich Yacht Club dismissed the three chefs in September 2023
|
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
In September 2023, a manager was leaving the club and was worried Ms Banasiak and Ms Rocha had not yet arrived in time for a dinner event.
The manager then checked the logs the next day and found the two had written that they arrived before she had left.
She then reported the issue and an investigation exposed discrepancies between when the pair said they came into work against when they logged in and out of the alarm system.
It also examined their previous three months of time sheets and found the duo had both cheated the system.
The three workers all sued the Royal Harwich Yacht Club for unfair dismissal and racial discrimination
|
ROYAL HARWICH YACHT CLUB
Ms Banasiak logged 896 minutes – or nearly 15 hours – more than she worked.
Ms Rocha logged 716 minutes, or nearly 12 hours more.
It also found that on 19 instances the pair logged the exact same entry times, despite the fact they lived 40 minutes apart and were not likely to arrive together.
The three then filed for unfair dismissal and racial discrimination in October 2023.
Employment Judge Richard Wood said the dismissals were “unrelated to the fact that the workers were not British nationals”.
He added: “We accept that the club appeared to have little if any written rules about filling out time sheets. We take the view that it might have been better to have spelt out some of the matters discussed within a staff handbook.”
However, he would say the key issues were “matters of common sense” and it was not appropriate the way the time sheets were filled out.“
Mr Wood said: “It seems that [they] had convinced themselves that it was acceptable and permitted… It is likely that the practice described had been going on for much longer than the three-month period covered by the schedules.
“We find in this case that the club was not aware of how time sheets were being filled out and extra hours claimed. We are satisfied that the club’s investigation of these matters was full and reasonable. This ground of less favourable treatment is not made out on the evidence.”