A furniture shop owner blamed Brexit for harming his firm and landing him in court for drink driving.
Karamjit Virdi suffered rising prices because he imports raw materials from Europe, forcing him to cut jobs.
And that drove him to drink on the day of the cutbacks, which included "an elderly retainer who worked for the family for 30 years," said Graham Heathcote, mitigating.
"Both were in tears. There was no animosity on the part of the employee who had seen the writing on the wall for a significant time.
"It was a particular blow for Mr Virdi who felt he had let him down when he had not.
"We are all sick to death of hearing about Brexit but it has caused uncertainty for five years. He gets many materials from Europe and there is the uncertainty with trading terms and the value of the pound.
"Costs have gone up significantly," said Mr Heathcote for Virdi, 52, who owns Arnold Sofas and Beds.
He said that Virdi supports local organisations and gives away stock to help them. He took over the family business after the death of his father.
Mr Heathcote added: "It is a burden he bears unstintingly and he is a very philanthropic man.
"Whatever happens, he is always thinking of others. All sorts of causes approach him and he says 'we have got mattresses, beds, furniture.'"
On the night of the retainer's redundancy on August 8, Virdi made a delivery and went to a pub.
His van was stopped by police officers and he gave a reading of 123 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millitres of breath - nearly four times the legal limit.
Ghazala Mumtaz, prosecuting, told Nottingham magistrates: "Police received a phone call that a van was seen driving erratically. He accepted straightaway that he had been drinking."
Virdi had a similar drink-drive conviction within a decade and was banned from the roads for five years.
A £300 fine, £90 government tax and £85 prosecution costs must be paid by Virdi of Reynolds Drive, Wollaton. He was given a one-year community order and must attend 10 sessions to get help from probation officers.
A probation report said that Virdi works six days a week from 9am to 5pm, running the business since the death of his father in 2013.
"It has suffered in the current climate and his house has been remortgaged to keep the shop in business," the report said.
It described Virdi as suffering from depression and other medical problems.
