A JD Wetherspoon employee has been awarded more than £25,000 after he was reprimanded and investigated for using his staff discount to pay for a meal with his family.
Brandon Halstead, a kitchen associate at The Albany Place in Trowbridge, was investigated by his bosses and called to a gross misconduct hearing after he used his staff discount to pay for a meal for seven people, including himself, without realising that the pub chain’s policy only applied to parties of four or less.
Mr Halstead, who is autistic, had to take sick leave due to anxiety after the reprimand and said the situation left him in “intense distress”, feeling “persecuted and let down”.
After his mother complained he had faced “appalling treatment with no adjustment made for his condition”, Mr Halstead took his bosses to an employment tribunal.
The tribunal found that Wetherspoons failed to make reasonable adjustments for Mr Halstead’s disability throughout its investigation. A further claim of disability-related harassment by Mr Halstead was dismissed.
In August 2023, Mr Halstead went out for a meal at one of the chain’s pubs, alongside his mother, and five family members who were visiting. He saved £19.17 using his employee discount.
Mr Halstead was called in to a meeting with his shift manager five days later, in which he was told that he was being investigated for violating the staff discount policy. He also told his manager that his mother had access to his Wetherspoons app to look at his rota timetables, which his manager told him was “a breach of the data security policy”.
During the meeting, Mr Halstead apologised and claimed that he was unaware that the discount was only applicable to four people. He also said he would get his mother to delete the app right away, which she did.
Following the meeting, Mr Halstead told his manager that he was autistic and required his mother to attend formal meetings with him.
In a second investigation, held just over a week later, Mr Halstead and his mother explained how his autism meant that she needed access to his app on her phone so she could plan bus times and lifts for her son.
Mr Halstead was then asked to attend a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct, and was accused of being dishonest, abusing his discount, and failing to comply with Wetherspoon’s data policy.
Despite Mr Halstead informing his manager that he needed his mother present at the meetings, she was not invited to the hearing.
The tribunal heard that no other extra support was offered to Mr Halstead, including the option to have the meeting held on Zoom, have questions sent in advance, and be allowed to provide a written submission to his manager.
The manager admitted that Mr Halstead had received a template letter that had not been adapted in light of his needs.
In the tribunal’s conclusions, employment judge Murdoch wrote: “We have seen from numerous sources of written and oral evidence that Mr Halstead requires his mother to be present at any formal meetings.
“We find that the application of this standard procedure not to allow a representative or companion to be present during the investigation meeting...puts (Mr Halstead) at a substantial disadvantage compared to someone without the claimant’s autism.”
The tribunal heard that his manager’s behaviour caused him to take sick leave from work due to the “significant stress and anxiety” that meant he was unable to leave his bedroom.
In discussing his return to work, Mr Halstead’s mother requested a compensatory gesture, which was denied.
Wetherspoons was ordered to pay Mr Halstead £3,520 for financial loss, £18,500 for injury to feelings, and interest at the rate of 8% in the further sum of £3,392.
Murdoch wrote: “The claimant admitted straight away to breaking the rules of the discount policy because he was unaware of the rules. A typical feature of autism is a strong desire to adhere to rules.
“The claimant stated immediately that he was sorry and that it would not happen again now he understood what the rules were.”
JD Wetherspoon declined to comment.
