Young chef sacked for 'checking her phone during her shift'
A chef says she was sacked after her boss accused her of being on her phone for ‘hours’.
Sophie Alcock, 20, was fired after just two weeks and claims her boss told her she was ‘lazy’ and that it was ‘the worst day of work he'd ever seen’.
Sophie claims that when she went into work at Toast, in Withington, Manchester, on 6 July she warned boss Matt that she might be ‘distracted’ as she was waiting for her degree results and that he ‘seemed like it was fine’.
But as she left work the next evening, Sophie says another member of staff told her a ‘rumour’ that she was getting sacked.
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Sophie, from Wimborne, Dorset, said: "I told him I was getting my results and I might be a bit distracted, he seemed like it was fine.
"He didn't say I wasn't doing my job properly. I got out every order on time.
"I went in the next day and at the end of the shift, one of the other chefs came in.
"It was weird. She said 'has Matt spoken to you?' and I half-jokingly said 'no, am I getting fired?' and they said 'yes probably'.
"I asked why and she said 'I don't know, something to do with your attitude'.
"I left work in tears. I was very anxious because I didn't know if I was fired, it was a rumour.
"I emailed him asking what was going on and he asked me to chat to him the next day. I asked him to confirm if I was fired and he said I was no longer needed.”
Sophie admits she was on her phone a lot during work, but claims it was only for 'around an hour' throughout her nine-hour shift.
Sophie went in for a meeting the next day, which she secretly recorded on her phone.
"He basically said I was lazy and it was the worst day of work he'd ever seen but everyone I know will testify that I'm not a lazy person,” she went on.
"I could have performed better. I'm not saying my shift was perfect but I had extenuating circumstances. He could have told me how he wants his kitchen run but he just fired me.
"If I'd done a not optimal day of work, he should have told me and not fired me out of the blue because of one day of work which was a really stressful day.
"I said I had iPhone evidence that I wasn't on my phone for four hours.
"I was on my phone for two hours and 40 minutes for the entire day and it was mostly before and after my shift.
"I was on it for about an hour, 10 to 15 minutes every so often and I took two breaks to go outside.
"If I was on my phone in the kitchen, there were no orders.”
Toast confirmed that Sophie no longer works for them but declined to share 'the reasons'.
A spokesperson at Toast said: "Toast employed Sophie for two weeks over June/July and we are very sorry to hear that she is unhappy about her time working with us.
"We do not wish to breach the confidentiality of the employment relationship between Toast and Sophie by responding in detail to the reasons she is no longer employed by us.
"Over our six years as an independent high street café we have striven for a great atmosphere for customers and staff alike, but accept that this has not been Sophie’s experience.
"We have made contact to see if she would like to discuss her concerns further and we are taking on board her views and reviewing improvements we can make. Sophie is being paid for the hours she worked. We wish her well in the future."
Topics: UK News
Claire Reid