Wetherspoons has been instructed to compensate an autistic employee at a pub with over £25,000 following claims of mistreatment related to his use of a staff discount for a family dinner. Brandon Halstead, who works as a kitchen porter at The Albany Palace pub in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, faced reprimand from his superiors for utilizing the discount to cover a meal with his mother and five other relatives at a different Wetherspoons branch in August 2023. Allegations were made against him for violating the employee discount policy and he was subjected to disciplinary actions, leading to feelings of being unfairly targeted and disappointed.
An employment tribunal determined that Mr. Halstead, who subsequently took time off due to work-related stress, is entitled to receive £25,412 due to the challenges his autism presented, placing him at a significant disadvantage. The Daily Mail reported that Mr. Halstead was called in for a disciplinary meeting concerning alleged dishonesty and misuse of the discount policy to receive a 20 percent discount of £19.17 on his meal. During the hearing in Bristol, it was revealed that Mr. Halstead, who commenced his employment at the pub in September 2018, was unaware of the restriction on the discount for groups larger than four.
In a subsequent meeting, Mr. Halstead acknowledged using his employee discount for more than himself and three others, citing ignorance of the limit. He also disclosed that his mother had access to his Wetherspoons app to view his work schedules, a breach of data security protocol. Despite explanations from Mr. Halstead and his mother about the impact of his autism and the need for clarification on policy violations, he was instructed to attend a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing, which exacerbated his stress and anxiety.
An occupational health assessment highlighted Mr. Halstead’s feelings of persecution and betrayal. His mother, Ms. Halstead, lodged a formal grievance on his behalf, expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of reasonable adjustments made by Wetherspoons. Despite her requests for compensation or goodwill gesture being denied, she pursued claims of disability-related harassment and failure to accommodate to the tribunal, emphasizing the strict enforcement of the discount policy within the company.
In the tribunal ruling, Employment Judge Murdoch acknowledged the unwarranted treatment towards Mr. Halstead but stopped short of labeling it as harassment. She critiqued the application of a zero-tolerance policy towards an individual with autism who unknowingly breached rules, deeming it disproportionate. Upholding the reasonable adjustment claim, Judge Murdoch highlighted the substantial disadvantage Mr. Halstead faced in comparison to non-autistic individuals due to his condition and lack of dishonesty in breaking the policy.
Wetherspoons declined to comment on the specifics of the case involving the ongoing employee, emphasizing that the harassment claim was not upheld.