No joy for Tube worker who wanted 5-week Catholic break

THE claim of a Catholic London Underground worker who tried to sue bosses when they refused to give him five weeks off to attend a religious festival was not entirely genuine, a tribunal judge has ruled.

Francesco Gareddu, 50, a quality engineer, had been given the holiday each August to attend an ancient saints’ festival in Sardinia, as he said it had “deep religious importance to the faithful”.

After being told in 2014 he would no longer be given the time off, he tried to mount a grievance, which was rejected, before suing his employers for religious discrimination, the Evening Standard reported.

But the president of the employment appeal tribunal said Mr Gareddu “had not invariably attended a series of festivals to the same saints each year”.

In fact, out of 17 festivals he had previously identified as important, he only visited nine in 2013, the tribunal found.

Mrs Justice Simler added: “The tribunal found that the true or genuine reason for wanting a five-week period was not the claimant’s religious beliefs or their manifestation but was his wish to be with his family.”

Mr Gareddu, a father of three from Buckinghamshire, told the paper: “They completely misunderstood. I went there feeling it was a pretty straightforward process and that I would have won.

“They did not understand what another person’s belief is based on.”

A Transport for London spokesman said it would “always seek to accommodate the requirements of our employees where possible”.