Sacked chef is awarded €6,000 in compo claim

A CHEF who lost his job after a dispute over a partially-cooked chicken has been awarded €6,000 for unfair dismissal.

The company’s catering operations manager described the incident in November 2016 “as a very serious one and could have caused food poisoning”.

The chef said the chicken was used that day and served to customers while the company stated it was not clear if the meat was disposed of but it should have been.

The unnamed chef and a colleague partially cooked the bird with the intention of completing their cooking in the ovens.

The chef said the ovens were full of other items.

PROBE

A company probe considered why the chef did not take lesser risk foodstuffs such as baked potatoes out of the oven and replace it with the chicken.

In any event, the item was placed in the freezer, in breach of safety policy.

The company insisted the chef knew what he did was dangerous and was dismissed for gross misconduct and breach of trust.

While the WRC agreed it was a serious breach, it ruled the man was unfairly dismissed after finding fault with the disciplinary and investigation process.

Adjudication Officer Kevin Baneham said the company had conflated the investigation and disciplinary processes and this was not a technical breach rendering the dismissal unfair.

He found the chef was 50% liable for the dismissal and awarded him €6,000.