A former Lidl worker diagnosed with a fear of rejection will receive a £45,000 payout after successfully suing the retailer for unfair dismissal. Ryan Toghill was fired for gross misconduct after he was caught operating a forklift against the orders of his boss. A judge ruled Lidl failed to make adjustments for Mr Toghill's 'intense sensitivity' to rejection as a result of his ADHD. Mr Toghill was diagnosed with ADHD in May 2022 and is acutely affected by the impression of being rejected, harassed or criticised. He was diagnosed with a hernia in July 2023 and was transferred to Lidl's store in Ystrad Mynach. Multiple staff members reported to the store manager that Mr Toghill had been secretly using the machinery on the shop floor. A disciplinary meeting in August 2023 found Mr Toghill had disregarded Ms Ogden's authority and failed to show any remorse. After an appeal failed, Mr Toghill was offered a demoted role as a shift manager which bosses argued was 'better suited' to him. Employment Judge Samantha Moore said Mr Toghill was put at a 'substantial disadvantage' during the disciplinary process because of his disability.
A Thai restaurant chef who worked for over 10 years was unfairly dismissed after allegations of serving floor-dropped food, with the Workplace Relations Commission awarding him €32,550 (£28,429). The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Ecoco Asian Kitchen had wrongfully sacked chef Tommy Chee King Eng. Mr Eng claimed he was dismissed for picking up food from the floor, which he subsequently cooked and served to a customer, as well as for using an incorrect technique when preparing roast duck. A spokesperson for Ecoco Asian Kitchen said serious hygiene and food safety concerns had emerged in June 2025, shortly after the company had taken over running the restaurant. WRC adjudication officer Breiffni O'Neill said the company's 'reactive, backward-looking approach' was at odds with what would ordinarily be expected of a new owner inheriting a long-serving employee.
The highest we have achieved over the last three weeks is 39%, other weeks were 37% and 36%.
A real estate manager has been awarded nearly £400,000 after he accumulated a staggering 827 unpaid holiday days over 25 years. Mossadek 'Moss' Ageli, who worked for the Libyan-owned firm Sabtina Limited, was consistently unable to take his annual leave due to the company's operational demands. The Watford Employment Tribunal ruled that Mr Ageli was owed £392,000 for the accrued holiday, dating back to 1998. The sum comes alongside an additional £105,000 in compensation, following a successful unfair dismissal claim. Mr Ageli joined Sabtina Limited in 1987, initially as deputy managing director before becoming commercial manager. Directors refused 200 of his holiday days between 1988 and 1996. By 1998, Mr Ageli and the company formalised an agreement for him to be paid for his untaken holiday. In both 2001 and 2004 he was paid £15,000 in lieu of holiday, showing that the agreement was indeed in place. In May 2022 the board of directors was replaced, and new directors demanded documentation from the manager and began slowly removing duties from him.
A warehouse worker sacked for faking a bad back after his boss found videos of him 'dancing' as a reggae DJ has won over £30,000 in compensation. Neil Wilson was awarded the payout after facing accusations he defrauded insurers while being off sick from his day job. Mr Wilson had been on sick leave from his full-time job at a warehouse for 15 months due to a bad back. Bosses at the company saw videos of Mr Wilson 'singing and swaying,' and became suspicious that he was healthy and defrauding their insurance company. The firm ultimately decided against claiming fraud as they 'didn't want for him potentially to be taken down a criminal route.' An employment tribunal ruled that while he was 'moving rhythmically from foot to foot,' Mr Wilson was not 'in any meaningful sense, dancing.'
Quickly picked up the duties.
A Nestle factory worker who was sacked after triggering a full production shutdown by allegedly vaping in a disabled toilet has won a £22,000 payout. Luke Billings set off the fire alarm at Nestle's facility in Tutbury, Staffordshire, in October 2023, triggering a full evacuation and halting work. An internal investigation reviewing CCTV footage found it was caused by Mr Billings vaping in the disabled toilet. Mr Billings initially told bosses he did not vape when confronted with CCTV footage, but later conceded under questioning that he did use e-cigarettes, but only at home and on weekends. A Nottingham employment tribunal ruled Nestle had no right to sack him for lying.
A therapist with endometriosis and tendonitis has won over £26,000 at an employment tribunal after she was fired for requesting ten-minute breaks between clients. Iunia Butunoi was employed by Nurture Chiropractic Clinic Limited in Romford, Essex, between November 2020 and November 2022 as a soft tissue therapist. She had been diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018 - which caused her stomach cramps, bleeding, back pain and exhaustion. In May 2021, Ms Butunoi hurt her right wrist while lifting a heavy bag of soil at home and was later diagnosed with tendonitis. At an ill health review meeting in June 2022 she asked for 10-minute breaks between massage clients but this was declined as her shifts were only up to five hours long. Her boss said they would not be able to accommodate her breaks due to it being a small business and they needed to 'deliver a reliable efficient service.' She was later fired in November 2022, and was told they had no confidence she would be able to attend work regularly and reliably.
Filled in with inaccurate information.
A personal trainer sacked by David Lloyd gyms after he was accused of sexual harassment has lost a wrongful dismissal claim and been handed a £17,000 bill. Alex West had his claims thrown out after a tribunal heard allegations he had sexually harassed several co-workers. At the staff Christmas party on December 3 2021, West asked a male colleague 'are you a poofter?' and told a female co-worker to 'stop teasing him' when she bent over. He was suspended eight days later and called to an investigation meeting - at which he made an opening statement and then refused to answer a single question put to him. Employment Judge Victoria Wright described West as an 'evasive' and 'deflective' witness who appeared to have been coached.
A Robert Gordon University student has secured more than £11,000 in compensation following an employment tribunal ruling that he was wrongfully dismissed for raising food safety concerns at his workplace. David Low, who held positions at a Pizza Hut takeaway outlet on King Street in Aberdeen operated by Ultra Catering Ltd, was awarded £11,270.14 after the tribunal determined his dismissal constituted unfair treatment of a whistleblower. He hoped to pay his way through higher education by working for the firm. The tribunal was told that the claimant 'quickly picked up the duties' and was promoted to store manager after being taken on in June 2023. The training emphasised and highlighted the importance of food safety and this caused him to question some of the practices that he had seen earlier in his employment. Staff had access to an app called 'Hut Bot' developed by Pizza Hut. This required staff to check the temperature of fridge freezers and the work table provided by Pizza Hut on which pizzas would be made. The tribunal was told that the claimant became concerned that actual temperature readings were not being taken and Hut Bot 'filled in with inaccurate information.' The tribunal was told that the claimant regularly raised issues about the way the store was being managed with the firm's directors and raised concerns that basic hygiene rules were not being followed. He was anxious that he might become liable in some way for some of the poor practices he was observing if they led to food poisoning. On April 29 2024 he told his superiors that he was going to step down as assistant manager. He wrote a report stating that the Hut Bot target was 100% and 'the highest we have achieved over the last three weeks is 39%, other weeks were 37% and 36%.' He said an employee had got burnt in the restaurant and no first aid was administered. Staff are entitled to a free meal after 6 hours work and in April 2024 the claimant became ill after eating some food in the store. The claimant believed that he had food poisoning which had been caused by this meal. At or about this time on a couple of occasions customers had telephoned indicating that they’d felt unwell after eating the meals supplied. He reported to bosses that cheese wedges had expired and had not been thrown out and an open bag of pork had been left under the preparation table overnight instead of being refrigerated. His texts about these issues were seen by the company's directors. He also complained about out of date salads, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers and said the 'make table wasn’t cleaned.' By April/May 2024 the claimant noted that a number of staff had not been given training in food handling. Macaroni cheese which was supplied to the store had to be defrosted and then used within 2 days. The claimant believed that it was often being used beyond this time to save it being thrown away. He said food was being defrosted in the oven, which breached safety regulations. The claimant did not believe that his employers were taking his complaints seriously. This led him to escalate his concerns with the franchise manager at Pizza Hut.
Make table wasn’t cleaned.
These rulings reflect a growing trend of employment tribunals favoring workers in disability and whistleblower cases. The decisions underscore the obligation of employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabilities and to protect employees who raise legitimate concerns about safety or malpractice. Employer responses and tribunal criticisms varied across the cases. Lidl faced judicial condemnation for its failure to accommodate ADHD, while Ecoco Asian Kitchen was criticized for its 'reactive' approach to a long-serving employee. Nestle was found to have acted wrongly in dismissing an employee for lying without proper grounds. In contrast, David Lloyd gyms successfully defended its dismissal of a personal trainer for harassment, with the tribunal imposing costs on the claimant for bringing a weak case. The implications of these rulings are significant for workplace accommodations and whistleblower protections. Employers are now on notice that failing to consider disabilities during disciplinary processes can lead to costly penalties. The Pizza Hut case reinforces that workers who raise food safety issues in good faith are protected from retaliation. However, the Alex West case serves as a reminder that tribunals will not support unmeritorious claims. Several unknowns persist following these rulings. The specific adjustments Lidl failed to make for Ryan Toghill have not been detailed. Whether health authorities investigated David Low's allegations at Pizza Hut is unclear. The verification of the hygiene concerns cited by Ecoco Asian Kitchen remains undisclosed. Whether Neil Wilson's insurers conducted any fraud investigation prior to his dismissal has not been revealed.