Ex-bar manager wins £3k payout
A FOOTBALL club has been told to pay its former bar manager more than £3,000 for unlawful deduction of wages.
Danielle Kearns was employed to work 16 hours a week at Hartlepool United Football Club – but there was a greater workload than anyone anticipated.
Having started the role in July 2021, Ms Kearns worked a total of 264 additional hours before resigning the following February.
Now, an employment tribunal judge has told the club, which is in League Two, to pay a total of £3,554.40 for a successful claim of unlawful deduction of wages and claim for compensation for untaken annual leave.
Documents, published online, tell how the reopening of Suits Direct stadium after lockdown and the unusually high number of home games all added to Ms Kearns’ workload.
She was hired to oversee the operation of 10 bars/kiosks within the ground and was in charge of staffing rotas, ordering stock, cleaning drink lines as well as overseeing around 30 workers.
While it was expected Hartlepool United would play a home game once a fortnight, between September 21 and February 22 there were 23 home games due to the team being successful in a number of cup competitions.
Employment judge Andrea Pitt said: “I am satisfied that on the day of a home game the claimant would work approximately 12 hours to ensure the smooth operation of the hospitality those days.
“There were occasions when the claimant had to work a Saturday and a Tuesday in the same week, for example 7th and 10th August 2021.
“On such occasions it was not always possible for the claimant to recoup her additional hours.”
While Rose Stoker, head of operations at the club, was off for two weeks due to covid, Ms Kearns took on additional duties. Her work was acknowledged by the chief operating officer Stephen Hobin in a text message.
By September 12, 2021, Ms Kearns emailed Mr Hobin in relation to an extra 265.25 hours she had worked over her agreed contract. She also states: “I’d like to think I can do the bar manager role on 16 hours a week providing the right staff/resources and support was in place.”
Having spoken with the board, it was agreed to pay Ms Kearns for 25 hours work as a “gesture of goodwill”. Discussions were then ongoing about payment for 125 hours work.
Ms Kearns first submitted a resignation letter on October 12, 2021, and admitted she didn’t want to leave but the issues left her with no choice. Ms Kearns retracted her resignation with conditions – “as long as the club can sort out my written contract and T/C’S so that I have some stability around working conditions and what my role and hours will look like for the rest of the season.”
Ms Kearns continued to work over her hours and kept Ms Stoker informed of any additional. She also stated it was clear 16 hours wasn’t enough time to complete the work.
She was absent due to stress for 11 days from January 25, 2022, and before this period was up Ms Kearns formally resigned.
The tribunal heard the football club’s case was the bar manager had not worked more than the scheduled hours, save for the occasions accepted in oral evidence, and casts doubts on the diary entries provided.
Ms Kearns was also a volunteer with The Heart of our Club group but it is accepted by the judge that the bar manager did not claim for any hours she was volunteering as part of this claim.
Judge Pitt added: “Having raised the question of additional hours the [club] did not make it clear that [Ms Kearns’ needed permission to exceed 16 hours per week. Nor did it provide her with a job description to ensure she carried out only the work she was required to do.
“The claimant is therefore entitled to be paid for the additional 264 hours she worked at £12 per hour is a total of £3,168.”
An additional claim for the underpayment of untaken leave also succeeded and the club was told to pay an additional £386.40.
Sunday Sun has contacted Hartlepool United FC for comment.