Bermuda Post

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

BMW worker sacked after going to Burger King during lunch break

BMW worker sacked after going to Burger King during lunch break

A BMW assembly worker has won £16,000 after being sacked after going to Burger King during his lunch break.

Ryan Parkinson swung by the fast-food restaurant for about an hour during an overtime shift at a BMW factory in Oxford.

When he came back, bosses scolded him for not telling them that he had clocked out for lunch – though Parkinson insisted he had.

Parkinson was sacked by GI Group, a recruitment agency that offers temporary contracts, before coming back following an appeal.

But after he was fired once again for leaving the factory site without telling supervisors, Parkinson successfully sued GI Group for unfair dismissal.

Parkinson was first let go when a supervisor said he ‘disappeared’ during a Sunday overtime shift at 7:50pm on June 17, 2018.

Bosses said Parkinson did not let anyone know he was heading out for his break and came back to work at 8:45pm.

Confronting Parkinson, the supervisor said he went home at 9:45pm appearing ‘upset’ and said he ‘did not wish to be here anymore’.

Three days later, factory supervisors grilled Parkinson who told them: ‘We finished the cell at around 19.50, we were saying what we doing about food.

‘Everyone wanted a kebab and I said I wanted a Burger King.’

An incident report said Parkinson phoned his friend while eating his food in the car park who said the team had to work through their break.

‘At say, 8.38pm (my supervisor) asked where I had been, and he had been looking for me. I said that I went on my break and went to get Burger King,’ Parkinson is reported to have said.

On August 23, Parkinson was signed off from work with stress at work and anxiety until February 2019.


The BMW worker brought a case against his recruitment agency

BMW bosses said Parkinson left for lunch without permission several times

He was sacked following a May 2019 disciplinary hearing over the Burger King trip only to be reinstated and handed a written warning after he appealed in June.

Parkinson was fired once again, however, in November 25, 2019, for gross misconduct for leaving the site once more.

He brought his claim of unfair dismissal against GI Group, with the tribunal hearing Parkinson say the two other trips were just to collect sandwiches.

The tribunal found there had been some confusion around whether Parkinson had been on-site during his break but this was not ‘reasonably’ investigated.

Employment Judge Stephen Vowles said: ‘(GI Group) failed to investigate the assertions by (Mr Parkinson) and his trade union representatives that this was a widespread practice done during break times by dozens of other employees.

‘There was no evidence of any procedure in place by (GI Group) for obtaining permission to exit the site or to notify a supervisor of exiting the site or the recording of any such permission or notification.’

Judge Vowles noted no other staffers who took lunch were subject to investigation.

‘He left his place of work to visit his car to collect his sandwiches during a break,’ he added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×