Worker sacked after 'lying about vaping in disabled toilets' wins £22,000 payout for unfair dismissal claim
A Nestle factory worker who was sacked after lying about setting off the fire alarm while vaping in a disabled toilet has been awarded a £22,000 payout following an unfair dismissal claim.
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Luke Billings, a technical operator, allegedly slipped off for a vape during a shift at the Nestle’s coffee factory in Tutbury, Staffordshire, in October 2023.
This set off the fire alarm and sparked an evacuation of the building as work on the factory floor was brought to a grinding halt.
Mr Billings was caught vaping on CCTV in the disabled toilet but told bosses he didn’t vape when initially confronted.
But upon further questioning, the factory worker later admitted at an internal disciplinary hearing that he did use e-cigarettes, but never at work.
He has still not admitted to vaping in the toilets and was dismissed for gross misconduct. However, he has been awarded £22,216.72 after a Nottingham employment tribunal ruled Nestle had no right to fire him over the alleged lie.
Read more: Worker sacked for saying ‘top of the morning to ya’ wins unfair dismissal claim
“All staff had to be evacuated. Production ceased until it was deemed safe to return. As a consequence there was disruption and lost production,” the panel heard.
Nestle's disciplinary officer sacked the employee for various reasons.
“Firstly, he considered a breach of health and safety.
"Secondly, he lost trust and confidence in the Claimant because he believed he was lying.
“Thirdly, there was a loss of production to the business.
“He concluded that the Claimant having been employed for a long time in the business ought to have known better.
“The Claimant appealed but the appeal was dismissed,” the tribunal was told.
Mr Billings, who had worked at the factory over a decade, brought Nestle before an employment tribunal with claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
He had a phased return to full-time work at the time after taking a year's sick leave for depression between June 2022 and August 2023.
The worker claimed he would never have lost his job if he didn’t have this time off. He said a colleague had received different treatment to him after storing a “washbag of clothing” in “a housing area that is used to enclose a fire hose” instead of a locker.
This employee admitted it was a health and safety risk, apologised and was given a final written warning at a separate hearing.
Mr Billings argued the worker was in “a comparable situation” but said the fact they kept their job showed he was “treated inconsistently” for his depression.
But Nestle's disciplinary officer said Mr Billings would have avoided dismissal if he “accepted his mistake and apologised”.
The panel found: “The less favourable treatment was not because of the Claimant's disability but because he did not admit his culpability and/or apologise.
“The reason for dismissal had nothing to do with the Claimant's disability.”
The disability discrimination claim was thrown out but he won his unfair dismissal claim as “the decision to dismiss fell outside the range of reasonable responses open to a reasonable employer”, the panel heard.
Nestle must now pay him £22,216.72 in compensation and has reimbursed him for the earnings he lost and was set to accrue the following month.